2030 Readers Flock to Korean Literature... AI, Handwriting Practice, and Politics Books Also Popular

2025 Yes24 Bestsellers
The Han Kang Effect: Korean Literature’s Popularity
Political Books in the Spotlight Amid Martial Law Turmoil

Riding the wave of the “Korean literature” boom sparked by author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature last year, three Korean novels made it into the top 10 of the Yes24 overall bestseller list this year. Han Kang’s representative work, “The Boy Is Coming” (Changbi), which remained in the top 10 for an impressive 27 weeks, claimed the number one spot on the overall bestseller list. This marks the second consecutive year it has ranked first. In addition, “Honmono” (Changbi) by Sung Haena ranked third, and Yang Gwija’s steady seller “Contradiction,” which has shown rising sales for three consecutive years (2023-2025), came in seventh, highlighting the popularity of Korean novels. Furthermore, amid political turmoil, books on society and politics gained attention, and books on AI and handwriting practice also enjoyed high popularity.

21 Korean Literature Titles in the Top 100

Among the top 100 annual bestsellers, 21 titles were from the fields of fiction, poetry, and plays. Even excluding Han Kang’s works, sales of fiction, poetry, and plays rose by 4% compared to the previous year. Specifically, sales of Korean novels and Korean poetry increased by 19.5% and 7.3%, respectively. Han Kang’s “The Boy Is Coming” ranked first not only in the fiction, poetry, and plays category but also topped the overall bestseller list. Additionally, her works “No Goodbye” and “The Vegetarian” ranked 21st and 22nd overall, respectively.

Strong Purchasing Power of Young Readers Drives Bestsellers

New works by young authors quickly became bestsellers, thanks to strong support from young readers. “Honmono” and “First Summer, Wanju” recorded purchase rates of 39.7% and 37.6%, respectively, among young readers, while singer-songwriter Han Roro’s “Grapefruit Apricot Club” saw a 63.6% purchase rate among readers in their 20s and 30s. Koo Byungmo’s new full-length novel “Jeolchang 切創” had a 43.9% purchase rate among the 20s and 30s demographic.

Popularity of Society and Politics Books Amid Political Turmoil

The rise of books on society and politics was also notable. President Lee Jaemyung’s “Ultimately, the People Decide” (Omybook), published in April, ranked fourth in the 2025 overall bestseller list. As the political situation rapidly shifted from martial law to impeachment and an early presidential election, sales of books in the society and politics category increased by 11.1% compared to the same period last year. Previous works by President Lee, such as the 2017 title “Lee Jaemyung’s Crooked Arm,” were also reissued in recovered and revised editions, resulting in a staggering 22.7-fold increase in total sales of his books compared to the previous year.

The surge in interest in constitutional law books was especially striking. Interest in the “Constitution,” previously considered a niche topic, soared, with sales increasing approximately 6.1 times year-on-year. Reflecting a growing discourse on democracy, books such as “How Do Extreme Minorities Rule the Majority?” (ranked 9th) and “How Democracies Die” (ranked 12th) also made it to the top ranks in the society and politics category.

Over 2,000 AI-Related Books Published

As artificial intelligence (AI) adoption spreads across all industries, both the publication and sales of related books have increased. Sales of AI-related books rose by 40.5% year-on-year, and 2,327 new titles were published, up 1.8 times from last year’s 1,308. Publications spanned a wide range of fields, including self-development, humanities, natural sciences, business and economics, and IT. Topics ranged from “AI Utilization Strategies” to “Human Replacement,” with many titles becoming bestsellers. “Dual Brain” ranked first in the AI category and second in self-development, attracting significant attention.

Other notable titles included Yuval Harari’s “Nexus,” which examines the AI era from a historical perspective, “The Extinction of Experience,” which analyzes how digital technology is replacing real-life experiences, and “The Singularity Begins at Last,” which ranked fifth in annual sales for natural sciences. In addition, “Park Taeung’s AI Lecture 2025,” which presents the latest AI trends in everyday life, and “Is This Possible? 71 Crazy Ways to Use ChatGPT” in the IT and mobile category, were among the top 10 bestsellers in AI and artificial intelligence books for 2025.

Handwriting Practice Books Popular... Two Consecutive Years of Growth

Even amid the digital deluge, more readers are seeking the “joy of turning pages with their fingertips.” Sales of handwriting practice books increased by 64.7% year-on-year, marking two consecutive years of growth. The number of new titles also more than doubled, reaching 403 compared to 181 last year. “100-Day Handwriting Notebook to Cultivate Adult Dignity,” featuring sentences from author Kim Jongwon, a mentor to 1.2 million readers, captured readers’ hearts and ranked first in the self-development category.