Poetry Publication and Sales Have Steadily Increased Over the Past 4 Years

Over the past four years, the number of poetry books published by the city has steadily increased, and sales have also shown an upward trend.

According to data released by the bookstore Yes24 on March 21, World Poetry Day, the number of poetry books published has steadily increased over the past four years. There were 3,069 titles in 2019, 3,102 in 2020, 3,257 in 2021, and 3,361 last year.

Sales volume is also on the rise. Although sales decreased by 3.6% in 2020 compared to the previous year, they rebounded with a 6.1% increase in 2021, followed by a steady 3.1% growth in 2022.

The main readership of poetry books consisted of young people in their 20s and 30s and those in their 40s. The 20s and 30s age group and the 40s each accounted for 30%, those in their 50s made up 27%, and those aged 60 and above were about 11.2%. The gender ratio was approximately 3 to 7, with female readers being more numerous.

As poetry gained attention, the activities of young poets stood out. Last year, poet Choi Ji-in, who ranked 16th on the poetry bestseller list, received enthusiastic responses by vividly depicting the voices of youth living in an absurd world through her work Working, Working, and Loving. Choi Ji-in was also nominated last year in Yes24's vote for 'Young Writers Who Will Be the Future of Korean Literature.' Poet Jeong Hyun-woo conveyed a sad elegy for all things experiencing death and farewell through The Vanishing Night. Poet Ahn Hee-yeon, a recipient of the Shin Dong-yup Literary Award, included deep and earnest poems that contemplate all the sorrows of the world while looking at the bottom of life in her third poetry collection, What I Learned on the Summer Hill.

The activities of poetry-specialized publishers were also remarkable. 'Achimdal Publishing,' a poetry-specialized publisher, has introduced poetry through various projects. First, through the 'Achimdal Poetry Collection' series, they have highlighted poetry books that uniquely showcase their own worlds regardless of whether the poet has officially debuted. Since the first volume of the series was released in September 2018, a total of 29 poetry books have been published as of last month. Through 'Eutda Poet Selection,' they introduced contemporary poets from various language backgrounds. They also released an anthology poetry book titled Poetry for People Eating Lunch Alone, written by nine poets during their lunch breaks.

Kim Yuri, Yes24's novel and poetry PD, said, "Beyond the traditional debut methods, recently poets have been actively pioneering channels to meet readers through SNS or independent publishing. Young poets born in the late 1980s to 1990s, such as Jeong Hyun-woo, Hwang In-chan, Lee So-ho, Ahn Hee-yeon, Moon Bo-young, Yang Anda, and Go Myung-jae, are receiving notable attention." She added, "Young poets tend to express their voices honestly with fresh language rather than following any trends or fashions, which readers find most attractive. Especially for readers in their teens and twenties, the fact that they can find their own experiences or language in poetry adds to the enjoyment. Additionally, being able to express themselves by posting verses on SNS can also be a purchasing point."