A throng of people lined up in front of Kyobo Book Centre, the country's largest bookstore chain in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, even before it opened early Monday morning, rushing to get their hands on her books.
Best known for her surreal novel "The Vegetarian," which won the International Booker Prize in 2016, Han won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Asian female laureate as well as the first South Korean author to receive the honor.
Her latest novel, "We Do Not Part," has seen a staggering 7,500-fold increase in sales, in just a day after she become an overnight global celebrity last Thursday, according to online bookstore Yes24. Her other books including "Human Acts," "The White Book," "Greek Lessons" are also flying off the shelves after selling out last week, prompting publishers to begin reprints.
"We're running out of stock due to a sudden increase in demand," said Kim Se-mi, a staffer at the bookstore. "Ten out of eight customers left empty-handed over the weekend, inquiring about how to purchase her books."
"I'm so happy and very proud of her and hope her recent success will inspire a new wave of interest in Korean literature," he said. "I also hope this will encourage more people to discover the joy of reading."
Another customer surnamed Cheon in his early 60s, who runs a business in China, said, "My Chinese friend who is about to visit Seoul asked me to pick up some of her books. But I'm not sure if I can do that since her books are hard to get.'"
Meanwhile, it seems like there's a similar buying frenzy going on overseas as well.
As of Monday, the translations of "The Vegetarian" and "We Do Not Part" topped Amazon's bestseller lists.
Éditions Grasset, the publisher of the French version of "We Do Not Part," which was released there in August, has also decided to print 8,000 additional copies amid soaring demand.
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