'Nobel Prize in Literature' Krasznahorkai's Works See Surge in Sales: "180 Copies Sold Per Hour"

Bookstore Sales Surge Across the Market
Offline Store Stocks Depleted
1,800 Copies Sold Within 10 Hours of Announcement on the 9th

Sales of books by Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, are surging.

According to Kyobo Bookstore, sales, which typically hovered at one or two copies per day, soared to around 1,800 copies between 8 p.m. on October 9, immediately after the Nobel Prize in Literature winner was announced, and 10:30 a.m. on October 10. This figure is based on online orders, as all offline store stock has been depleted. Of the total, his representative work "Satantango" (1985) accounted for 1,300 copies, while "Melancholy of Resistance" sold around 300 copies.

This trend is also evident at Aladin. While only about 40 copies would usually be sold in a month, as of 9 a.m. on October 10, sales had reached approximately 1,800 copies-a 45-fold increase. Among the six works published in Korean translation, "Satantango," which is also well known as a film of the same name, recorded the highest sales with about 1,200 copies sold by 9 a.m. on October 10. "Melancholy of Resistance" (2019) sold about 330 copies, with these two titles accounting for roughly 80% of total sales. Purchases were particularly high among readers in their 20s to 40s, with the highest proportion in their 30s.

Yes24 did not disclose exact sales figures, but reported that within 12 hours of the Nobel Prize in Literature announcement on October 9, sales of "Satantango" had increased about 12 times compared to the annual average, and total sales of the six translated works had tripled. For e-books, sales jumped 20-fold.

Krasznahorkai, regarded as a master of contemporary Hungarian literature, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on October 9, with the Swedish Academy praising his "intense and visionary body of work that reaffirms the power of art even in the midst of apocalyptic dread."

Park Dongmyung, manager in charge of foreign novels at Aladin’s Book Business Division, said, "Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been considered a strong contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year, but had never crossed the final threshold until now. Although his works are not easy to read due to their somewhat challenging style, I hope this occasion will introduce him to more readers." Prior to the announcement, Krasznahorkai ranked ninth in Aladin’s "Nobel Prize in Literature Prediction Reader Poll," receiving 212 votes.