[Chungmuro Book Cafe] Divided Between Finance and Children's Books

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The bestseller market is divided between investment/finance books and children's books. Among the books that made it to this week's bestseller rankings, half deal with themes such as wealth, money, and investment. In particular, these books swept the top four spots. This is due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

With economic uncertainty rising due to COVID-19, people are curious about where money will flow in their changed lives. Children's books are also maintaining strong sales as parents spend more time with their children because of COVID-19.

Asia Economy Newspaper compiled the bestseller rankings based on book sales from July 16 to 22. Sales rankings from major online and offline bookstores such as Yes24, Kyobo Bookstore, and Interpark were referenced, and comprehensive scores were calculated by adding ratings from our reporters.

'Kim Mi-kyung's Reboot' took first place again following the previous ranking (July 10). Kim Mi-kyung is a power YouTuber and CEO who runs the YouTube channel 'MKTV Kim Mi-kyung TV' with 1.12 million subscribers. She is gaining attention by presenting practical ways for companies and individuals facing crises due to COVID-19 to cope going forward.

Kyobo Bookstore stated that 'Kim Mi-kyung's Reboot' is the second book by Kim Mi-kyung to top the overall bestseller list since her 2017 book 'Mom's Self-Esteem Study,' and that 81.0% of buyers are women, overwhelmingly higher than men.

The book ranked second, 'The Great Wealth Migration,' is also influenced by a YouTube channel. The author Oh Geon-young appears on the YouTube channel 'SamproTV_With the Gods of Economy,' where economic experts discuss current economic issues.

'SamproTV_With the Gods of Economy' has 580,000 subscribers. In 'The Great Wealth Migration,' Oh Geon-young examines where money is flowing amid the heightened economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and advises on which products to invest in. He provides detailed explanations about investing in representative safe assets such as the dollar and gold.

'The Having' and 'The Nature of Money' have maintained long-term popularity, ranking third and fourth respectively.

'John Lee's Habits to Become Rich,' an investment beginner's guide written by John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, disappeared from the rankings after April but has re-entered. Published in January, the book has maintained steady popularity to the extent that the publisher released a 100,000-copy commemorative re-cover limited edition (photo).

Interpark Books revealed that 'John Lee's Habits to Become Rich' was the best-selling finance book during the financial book boom in the first half of this year. Interpark Books compiled sales data for finance and investment books from February 1, when COVID-19 began spreading seriously in Korea, to July 15. The results showed a 93% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. The number of new finance and investment books was 267, an 11% increase from 240 during the same period last year.

Moreover, while no finance books ranked in the top 30 overall bestsellers last year, three finance books entered the list this year. Along with 'John Lee's Habits to Become Rich,' the other two are 'Don't Ever Invest in Stocks If You Don't Know Financial Statements' and 'The Nature of Money.'

Among children's books, the existing titles 'Heunhan Nam-mae 5' and 'Seol Min-seok's Korean History Adventure 14' maintained their popularity, ranking fifth and sixth respectively. However, their rankings dropped two and one places compared to the previous ranking.

The fantasy novel 'The Strange Candy Store Jeoncheon-dang 7' by Japanese author Hiroshima Reiko newly entered the rankings at ninth place. Unlike the 'Heunhan Nam-mae' and 'Seol Min-seok's Korean History Adventure' series, 'The Strange Candy Store Jeoncheon-dang' is not a comic book. However, its intriguing premise of a store selling candies that grant wishes stimulates children's curiosity.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.