Overseas sales of translated Korean books hit record high after Nobel win
According to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, 1.2 million copies of agency-supported Korean books were sold worldwide in 2024, up a whopping 130 percent on-year.
The average sales per book hit a record high of 1,271 copies. Among them, 45 books sold more than 5,000 copies each, with 24 books surpassing the 10,000-copy mark.
The agency attributed the surge to Han Kang's Nobel Prize in literature for 2024. Sales of her 19 translated books rose fivefold, reaching 150,000 copies compared to 30,000 in 2023.
Other novels also showed solid performances overseas, including Chung Bora's "Cursed Bunny," which was shortlisted for both the International Booker Prize and the National Book Award, Park Sang-young's "Love in the Big City" and Cho Nam-joo's "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982."
LTI Korea said the expanding readership in North America and Europe has encouraged foreign publishers to "more actively introduce Korean books," adding that these publishers' "distribution channels and marketing power highly enhanced overseas access to Korean literature." (Yonhap)
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