Hangang Effect and Text Hip Trend... The 1020 Generation Immersed in 'Literature'

Yes24 Book Purchases Up 9%
Novels Like Yang Guija's "Mosun" Make a Comeback
Active Book Reviews and Reading Clubs
Reviews by Readers Under Their Teens Surge 3.5 Times
Culture of Recording and Sharing Good Passages Spreads

Lee Seon-ho (17), who lives in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, is currently deeply immersed in reading literature books. He reads literature books for more than an hour a day and writes reviews to share opinions in a reading club. Recently, he read the novel Geupryu by author Jeong Dae-geon and posted a review on a reading platform, which received dozens of 'likes' within a few days. On weekends, he exchanges various thoughts about books through online reading meetings with peers. "While it's nice to have my opinions empathized with, I get the greatest intellectual stimulation when I hear a 'knee-slapping' review someone else has offered," he says.

Amid the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to author Han Kang and the 'Text-hip' (a neologism combining 'text' and 'hip,' meaning that reading is cool) craze, the interest in reading among the 10s and 20s generation has noticeably increased.

According to an analysis by Yes24's reading community 'Sarak' on the 20th, the book purchase volume of the 10s and 20s generation increased by 9% in January this year compared to the same period last year. Although it is still too early to conclude, considering that the annual growth rate last year was 18%, it is highly likely that this year will significantly surpass that.

In particular, the popularity of the literature genre, including novels, stood out. The popularity of the novel Geupryu, which sparked a retro trend since last year, continued this year, and Yang Gui-ja's Mosun and Choi Jin-young's Proof of the Orb were also cited as representative retro books. Among literature fields, the sales growth rate of novels, poetry, and plays for the 10s and 20s generation recorded 39% as of January this year, showing a level close to the annual growth rate from 2023 to 2024 (40%).

During the vacation season, sales of exam preparation books and foreign language learning books usually dominate, but this year, four novels were included in the top 20 comprehensive bestsellers for the 10s and 20s generation in January. Han Kang's Boy Goes On and The Vegetarian ranked 8th and 20th respectively, while Mosun and Geupryu ranked 13th and 15th respectively.

The reading enthusiasm of the 10s and 20s generation is also evident in review writing. The number of book reviews by this group, which was less than 30,000 in 2023, increased by 52% in 2024, exceeding 44,000. Especially, the number of book reviews by readers under their teens surged about 3.5 times (240%), greatly surpassing the overall review growth rate (15.6%). The number of reviewers in the 10s and 20s generation also increased by 35% compared to the previous year, and the number of readers under their teens tripled.

Yoo Seo-young, team leader of the Yes24 community team, analyzed, "The 10s and 20s generation, specialized in social networking services (SNS), are not just reading books but actively engaging in 'book marketing' through honest and sincere reviews. As the culture of recording and sharing good book passages spreads, the reading craze centered on Han Kang's works has greatly influenced the increase in book reviews among the 10s and 20s generation." In fact, the books with the most reviews by teenage readers in 2024 were Han Kang's The Vegetarian and Boy Goes On, and Lee Kkot-nim's When I Took a Bite of Summer, ranking 1st, 4th, and 5th respectively. This is a stark contrast to 2023, when study method books and reference books topped the review rankings.

The culture of the 10s and 20s generation actively sharing good books on social networking services (SNS) has also led to increased interest in reading clubs. Since the launch of Sarak's reading club service in August last year, more than 1,600 clubs have been established within six months, and in January this year, 502 new clubs were created, a tenfold increase compared to the previous month. Among these, 97 reading clubs were for the 10s and 20s generation, accounting for 20% of the total.

Most of the clubs were conducted online. 78% of the 20s reading clubs and 90% of the 10s reading clubs were held online. In the classification by reading club themes, the keyword 'literature' accounted for the highest proportion at 22%, and various reading clubs such as 'clubs that read freely as they wish' and 'clubs for all genres' accounted for 13% of the total, receiving high interest.

Jang Eun-su, a publishing culture critic, said, "The Han Kang effect seems to be working strongly. Many readers have rediscovered the power of literature through the Nobel Prize award and have become fascinated by its enjoyment. Narratives have strong addictiveness, so once immersed in one work, it naturally leads to others. I don't think the current atmosphere will fade easily," he predicted.