Nobel Literature Prize Winner 'Han Kang' Causes a Stir on Coupang... Vegetarian Bestseller Sells Out in Under an Hour

If You Pre-Order, You Can Receive It on the 1st of Next Month

Since the news of Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature was announced, books by Han Kang have been continuously sold out on Coupang as well.

Screenshot of the Coupang application.

According to Coupang on the 11th, less than an hour after the news of Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature was announced on the evening of the 10th, all stocks of Han Kang's major best-selling novels, including The Vegetarian, were sold out. As a result, Coupang began accepting pre-orders for eight representative best-selling works by Han Kang. Currently, in Coupang's book category 'Novels, Essays, Poetry,' the representative works Human Acts and The Vegetarian ranked first and second, respectively.

The pre-order titles include popular works such as The Vegetarian, Human Acts, and I'm Not Leaving, as well as Black Deer, Greek Lessons, White, The Essential Han Kang, and The Box of Tears. Normally, these items are delivered via next-day Rocket Delivery, but due to stock depletion, pre-orders have started.

Books by Han Kang that consumers pre-order on Coupang can be received by November 1st. Coupang has begun providing guidance for each product stating, "Orders will be shipped sequentially with priority so that customers can receive their books quickly."

Following Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature, the publishing industry is experiencing a sell-out syndrome. After Han Kang's award, best-selling works have reportedly sold over 60,000 copies at Kyobo Book Centre and over 70,000 copies at Yes24. On the morning of the 11th, Kyobo Book Centre's real-time bestseller rankings from 1st to 9th place were all Han Kang's works, and Yes24's real-time bestseller rankings from 1st to 10th place were also occupied by Han Kang's works. Bookstores have also started pre-orders due to insufficient stock.

Meanwhile, the Swedish Academy announced Han Kang as the Nobel Prize in Literature laureate on the 10th. This is the first Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to a Korean author and the second Nobel Prize awarded to a Korean after the late former President Kim Dae-jung received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. It is also the first time in 12 years that an Asian author has received the Nobel Prize in Literature since Mo Yan of China in 2012.