Haruki Murakami's new novel Kaho has dominated the bestseller lists at major bookstores in South Korea. Following a buzz generated by pre-orders, the book has seen a significant increase in sales since its official release, sparking a Murakami craze among readers.
On October 31, Yes24 and Kyobo Bookstore announced that Kaho ranked first in their bestseller lists for the fourth week of October.
This marks the second consecutive week and the third week overall that Kaho has held the top spot on Yes24. After debuting at number one during the first week of October through pre-orders, it maintained its lead in the third and fourth weeks. At Kyobo Bookstore, it entered the overall number one position with a significant lead over the second place.
Sales have been robust. According to Yes24, sales of Kaho from October 22 to 28 increased by 40.3% compared to the previous week (October 15 to 21). The age demographic of buyers shows that 43.4% are in their 40s, followed by 27.7% in their 50s. Together, these two age groups account for 71.1% of the purchases. At Kyobo Bookstore, female readers in their 40s emerged as the primary buyers, while the book also gained popularity among male readers and those aged 50 and older.
Despite Murakami's dominance, the strength of Korean literature continues. Choi In-seo's Research Institute of Korean Historical Anomalies ranked second on Yes24 and fourth on Kyobo Bookstore. Released in August, this book has steadily climbed the rankings. Sales from October 1 to 28 on Yes24 increased by 26.6% compared to the same period last month, with 37.2% of buyers in their 20s.
Yang Gyu-ja's long-time bestseller Contradiction also made the lists, ranking sixth on Yes24 and eighth on Kyobo Bookstore. At Kyobo, Yoo Rae-hyeok's Aquarium rose one spot to ninth. On Yes24, Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha ranked fourth, while Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red, this year's Nobel Prize in Literature winner, took fifth.
As the fourth quarter approaches, interest in economics, management, and self-help books is growing. Trend Korea 2027, co-authored by Kim Nan-do and 12 others, reached third place on Yes24. Professor Jeong Jae-seung of KAIST's new book Cool Conversations is also gaining traction. This book, featuring 40 intellectual discussions on the theme of artificial intelligence (AI), ranked 11th on Yes24 and climbed 10 spots to 16th on Kyobo Bookstore.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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