Rising Popularity in Secondhand Trading
As books by author Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, continue to sell out, some works are being sold at premiums of tens of thousands of won.
On the 14th, a post appeared on a secondhand trading site offering a first edition signed copy of Han Kang's 2007 essay collection Gaman Gaman Bureuneun Norae for 700,000 won. The book's list price is 11,000 won, but this copy was immediately sold.
On the morning of the 14th, a space celebrating novelist Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, was set up at Kyobo Bookstore Gwanghwamun Branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The 6th printing of the first edition of the 29th Yi Sang Literary Award anthology, which includes Han Kang's short story Monggoban Jeom, was sold for 200,000 won. There was also a post offering the 7th printing of the same book for 150,000 won. Posts offering Han Kang's representative work Soneoni Onda special limited hardcover edition for 200,000 won and the first edition for 300,000 won were also posted one after another.
A user on a secondhand trading platform was selling several first editions of Han Kang's books, stating, "I will sell to those who offer a high price after receiving price proposals."
It is truly a seller's market. As Han Kang's books become scarce, readers' interest in rare editions seems to have increased accordingly.
According to Kyobo Bookstore and Yes24, about 530,000 copies of Han Kang's books were sold by 2 p.m. on the 13th after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. At Kyobo Bookstore, 260,000 copies were sold from the night of the 10th to noon on the 13th. This is 910 times the sales compared to the period just before the Nobel Prize announcement (7th to 9th). The bestsellers were Soneoni Onda (Changbi), Chaesikjuuija (Changbi), and Jakbyeolhaji Anhneunda (Munhakdongne), in that order.
Amid this unprecedented enthusiasm, the "Nobel Prize in Literature" halo effect is expected to continue in bookstores for some time. The books of Han Kang's father, author Han Seung-won, are also gaining attention. According to Kyobo Bookstore, sales of Han Seung-won's books increased about 110 times from the night of the 10th to noon on the 13th compared to the three days before the Nobel Prize announcement (7th to 9th). The most sold titles were the novel Saram-ui Gil, the humanities book Han Seung-won's Writing Secrets 108, and the essay collection Ggot-eul Kkeok-eo Jibeuro Dolaoda, in that order.
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