"Trend Korea 2026" Dominates the Top Spot
"Ubermensch" and "Jeolchang" Hold Leading Positions
"Trend Korea 2026" has maintained the number one spot on Kyobo Bookstore's overall bestseller list for nine consecutive weeks, making it the book with the longest run at the top this year. "Jeolchang" and "Dark Psychology" have also remained popular, holding the overall second and third positions respectively. "Ubermensch," an introductory philosophy book that offers existential insights and practical attitudes toward life, has attracted interest from readers in their 30s and climbed to fourth place overall.
"The Art of War" is also gaining attention as a humanities book that explores wisdom for life. Chae Eunmi's "First Encounter with the World of Quantum" received recommendations from influential finance bloggers, which helped it rise to eighth place overall.
With investor sentiment rebounding, interest in personal finance continues, and books in the economics and business management category are showing notable movement. Bae Jaegyu's "Anyone Can Become Rich Through Investing" entered the overall chart at number ten, while Park Dohwan's "The Roots of Stock Investing" climbed five spots to reach sixteenth place overall.
In the Korean fiction category, Lee Youngdo's "Earthtam Gyeong's Last Words" ranked seventeenth overall, and Cheon Seonran's "In a Place Where No One Comes" reached twenty-fourth place. New releases by authors with loyal readerships are drawing significant attention. In the foreign fiction category, Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary" surged forty-two spots to fifty-ninth place overall after the release of the movie trailer. Despite the film's release being scheduled for next year, the anticipation among science fiction readers appears to be a major factor.
In the fourth week of November, "Trend Korea 2026," which forecasts next year's consumer trends, continued its popularity on Yes24's overall bestseller list, securing the top spot for a second consecutive week. "Ubermensch," a modern reinterpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy of the superman, rose one position from last week to take second place, while author Gu Byeongmo's full-length novel "Jeolchang" ranked third. "Large-Cap Trend-Following Investment Rules" by Jeon Hwang, a full-time investor with fifteen years of experience, maintained fourth place from last week, and essayist Taesu's new release "The Happiness of Adulthood Is Quiet" took fifth place.
This week's overall rankings were marked by new releases from celebrities and well-known authors. In the essay category, "Tak! Dialogue of Enlightenment," a new book reconstructing Buddhist monk Beopryun's Q&A teachings, debuted at seventh place overall as soon as pre-orders began. Volleyball legend Kim Yeonkyung's new essay, "Things I Need to Do for Myself Now," ranked tenth just three days after its release on November 24, especially resonating with female readers in their 20s and 30s (64.9%).
"Live Treasuring You," the new book by "wildflower poet" Na Taejoo, saw a 42.3% increase in sales from the previous week, reaching fifteenth place. In the humanities category, "The Minimum Three Kingdoms" drew attention by ranking eighth. This book, a new release by educational influencer Choi Taeseong, has generated high expectations.
Among the top 20 overall, six humanities books made the list: "Ubermensch" (2nd), "The Minimum Three Kingdoms" (8th), "Dark Psychology" (9th), "Even If I Engrave Just One Line on My Heart" (12th), "The Art of War" (14th), and "A Page a Day: Copybook for My Vocabulary" (17th).
In the essay category, five books showed strong performance: "The Happiness of Adulthood Is Quiet" (5th), "Tak! Dialogue of Enlightenment" (7th), "Things I Need to Do for Myself Now" (10th), "Live Treasuring You" (15th), and "On Kindness" (16th).
In the eBook category, actor Park Jungmin's essay collection "A Useful Human," which became a topic of conversation due to a celebratory performance with Hwasa at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, topped the audiobook chart. Read by Park Jungmin himself, the book saw its weekly sales increase nearly twentyfold compared to the previous week, with 69.9% of purchases made by female readers in their 30s and 40s.
Beopryun's new book "Tak! Dialogue of Enlightenment" ranked seventh overall and second in the essay category as soon as pre-orders began on November 19. Analysis by gender and age showed that readers in their 40s and 50s accounted for 73.6% of sales, confirming strong support from middle-aged readers seeking to apply Beopryun's teachings to their lives.
"Tak! Dialogue of Enlightenment" condenses the core of Beopryun's "Q&A Teachings," which has 1.6 million subscribers, into a concise Zen dialogue format. It offers wisdom that does not require lengthy explanations, practical advice that can be immediately applied to unsettled minds, and actionable insights that prompt readers to take action right away.
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