"Trend Korea 2026" Tops October Sales...Nobel Prize in Literature Effect Fades Compared to Last Year

Announcement of Top 200 Trending Books in October by Integrated Publishing System
Nobel Prize Boost Less Significant Than Last Year
"Challenging Content Limits, Sales Down Year-on-Year"

The Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency announced the "Top 200 Trending Books of October" through the Integrated Publishing Distribution Information System. Based on sales data provided by Kyobo Book Centre, Yes24, Aladin, Youngpoong Bookstore, and 357 local bookstores nationwide, "Trend Korea 2026" was found to be the best-selling book in October. It was followed by Koo Byungmo's new release "Jeolchang," "Heunhannammae 20," and "Satantango" by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Krasznahorkai Laszlo. Another of the author's major works, "Melancholy of Resistance," ranked 59th.

Total book sales in October amounted to 124.9 billion won, a decrease of approximately 17.2% compared to the previous month (150.9 billion won), and a drop of about 20.8% compared to the same month last year (157.7 billion won), when sales had increased due to author Han Kang's Nobel Prize win. An official from the Integrated Publishing Information System explained, "The long holiday season appears to have significantly reduced sales compared to the previous month," adding, "Although sales of works by Nobel Prize-winning authors increased in some cases, overall sales declined year-on-year due to the challenging content of the works and the limitations of translated editions."