Korean Literature Spreads Globally, Sales Surpass 1.2 Million Copies...130% Increase from Last Year

1. 1.2 Million Copies Sold in 2024
2. 130% Increase Compared to 520,000 Copies in 2023
3. Steady Popularity of Jang Bora, Park Sangyoung, and Cho Namjoo

With support from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, the number of Korean literature books sold overseas surpassed 1.2 million copies in 2024. This represents a 130% increase compared to the previous year’s 520,000 copies.

From the left in the photo, Sangyoung Park's Love in a Big City (translated version) and Jora Jeong's Cursed Rabbit (translated version).

According to overseas sales data released by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea on August 6, 942 Korean titles were translated and published in 40 language markets between 2020 and 2024. The cumulative sales volume reached 2.68 million copies. This is an increase of 730,000 copies compared to the period from 2019 to 2023, which saw 834 titles and 1.95 million copies sold.

Increase in Both Number of Titles and Sales Volume Through Collaboration with Overseas Publishers

Through collaborations with leading international publishers such as Penguin Random House and Hachette, both the number of titles published and the sales volume of Korean books in 2024 saw significant growth. The average sales per title reached an all-time high of 1,271 copies. There were 45 titles that sold more than 5,000 copies, and 24 titles that surpassed 10,000 copies in sales. Titles that sold over 10,000 copies include Han Kang’s Greek Lessons (English translation), Kim Ji-yoon’s Yeonnamdong Binggulbinggul Laundry (English translation), Park Soyoung’s Snowball (English translation), Lee Miye’s Dallergut Dream Department Store (French translation), Kim Hoyoun’s The Uncomfortable Convenience Store (German translation), and Son Wonpyung’s The Proud Fox Tail (Russian translation).

Notably, Jang Bora’s Cursed Rabbit (UK, Honford Star, 2021), Park Sangyoung’s Love in a Big City (UK, Tilted Axis, 2021), and Cho Namjoo’s Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 (Germany, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2021) each achieved sales of over 4,000 copies for three consecutive years.

Genre Diversification Accelerates: Healing Novels, Graphic Novels, Award Winners

By genre, Korean healing novels, which have maintained steady popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, continued to show strong growth in overseas markets in 2024. Domestic bestsellers such as The Uncomfortable Convenience Store, Dallergut Dream Department Store, and Marigold Heart Laundry were published one after another abroad, attracting a broad readership. For example, Welcome to Hyunam-dong Bookstore, published by Destek Yayinlari in T?rkiye in 2023, sold over 80,000 copies in 2024 alone. In Poland, The Uncomfortable Convenience Store (Znak, 2024) sold more than 20,000 copies, an exceptional achievement for Korean literature.

The rise of genre literature such as graphic novels and science fiction/fantasy was also notable. The German translation of The Bird That Drinks Tears 1 (Heyne, 2024) sold over 20,000 copies, and Kim Geumsook’s Grass Spanish translation (Reservoir, 2022) recorded sales of over 10,000 copies for three consecutive years. Works that gained attention through international literary awards, such as Hwang Boreum’s Welcome to Hyunam-dong Bookstore (Shueisha, 2023), which won first place at the Japan Booksellers Award, and Hwang Sokyong’s Three Generations of Railway Workers (Scribe Publications, 2023), a Booker International finalist, also posted strong sales performances.

310,000 Copies Sold Following Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature

Han Kang’s receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024 became a decisive turning point for the global spread of Korean literature. To date, a total of 77 works by Han Kang have been published in 28 languages with support from the Literature Translation Institute, and about 310,000 copies were sold in 2024 alone.

In most language markets, previously published works were also brought back into the spotlight, resulting in increased sales. An analysis of the annual sales for Han Kang’s 19 overseas titles published before 2023 shows that sales jumped from about 30,000 copies in 2023 to about 150,000 copies in 2024, a fivefold increase. This surge in sales led to multiple works entering the top ranks of the literature sections on major online bookstores such as Barnes & Noble in the United States, Amazon in Germany, France, and Spain, and Waterstones in the United Kingdom.

In some countries, including Spain, active follow-up marketing such as re-releases and cover redesigns using the “Nobel Prize-winning author” title is also underway.

Jeon Sooyong, president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, stated, “Through our regular annual surveys of overseas sales, we closely analyze market maturity and reader receptivity by region. The visible overseas sales achievements following Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024 provide quantitative evidence of the global potential of Korean literature.”