"Not Supplying for Own Profit" Criticism Raised
Temporary Restriction on Han River Book Sales Until 31st This Month
"For Win-Win with Local Bookstores"
Novelist Han Kang, signboard inside Kyobo Bookstore Gwanghwamun Branch. [Source=Photo by Joint Press Corps, Online Community]
Kyobo Bookstore temporarily suspended sales of books by novelist Han Kang in offline stores after facing criticism for not supplying her books to local bookstores.
On the 21st, Kyobo Bookstore posted a notice at its Gwanghwamun branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "To promote coexistence with local bookstores, sales of books by author Han Kang will be temporarily restricted from the 22nd to the 31st of this month." It added, "Sales are scheduled to resume on November 1st, and we kindly ask for your understanding," and urged customers to "purchase books by this author at nearby local bookstores during this period."
Earlier, on the 17th, the Korea Federation of Bookstores criticized Kyobo Bookstore, saying, "Kyobo Bookstore does not supply books by this author to local bookstores for its own profit." They pointed out, "On the 14th, a notice was posted limiting orders to 10 copies per day per title by this author, but no local bookstores received any supply." In response, Kyobo Bookstore explained, "Following the news of the author's Nobel Prize in Literature, orders surged all at once, causing difficulties in book supply," and stated, "Since the 15th, we have supplied a small quantity of the author's books to local bookstores." They also added, "We will adjust and increase the supply volume."
Kyobo Bookstore acts both as a retailer competing with local bookstores and as a supplier providing books to bookstores. Currently, it receives an average of about 17,000 copies daily, but following the federation's criticism, it is reported to plan distributing 15,000 of these copies to local bookstores. Accordingly, local bookstores, which previously received about 2,900 copies daily, will now share this increased supply. During the notice period, Kyobo Bookstore decided to sell only 2,000 copies per day at eight branches nationwide, including the Gwanghwamun branch.
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