In Their 30s, Wallets Opened... 3 Out of Top 10 Kyobo Bookstore Bestsellers Are Self-Help Books

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] Self-help books are gaining significant attention at the beginning of the year. According to Kyobo Bookstore, self-help books showed a 27.3% increase compared to the same period last year (January 1 to February 20).

According to Kyobo Bookstore, during the second week of February (February 8 to February 14), three self-help books ranked within the top 10 of the overall bestseller list, and nine titles were within the top 20. The number one spot was taken by Kim Mikyung's Forty Lessons.

Among them, Gary Kelly's The One Thing was recorded as the best-selling self-help book over the past decade (February 21, 2013 to February 20, 2023). Although it has never ranked first in either the self-help or overall bestseller categories, it has maintained steady sales through online word-of-mouth.

Based on sales volume, second place went to Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, third to Lee Seoyoon's The Having, fourth to Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, and fifth to James Clear's Atomic Habits. All share the common theme of success and social skills.

The main readers of self-help books were found to be in their 30s (30.7%). By gender, women (55.3%) showed more interest in self-development than men (44.7%).

Jang Eunhae, the self-help MD (E-commerce Sales Team) at Kyobo Bookstore, analyzed the popularity factors, stating, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, so-called 'skill development books' focusing on work and job performance, which helped cultivate and demonstrate the meaning and sense of work, were popular. Recently, however, there has been a significant increase in readers seeking self-help books with keywords such as habits, mindset, and human relationships for 'immersion' in their own most important values in daily life."