Jin Joong-kwon: "Did Not Expect Explosive Reaction to 'The Black Book of Cho Kuk'... Seems Many People Are Boiling Over"

'The Black Book of Joguk' Sells Out First Edition of 5,000 Copies on Opening Day

On the 25th of last month, the book "A Country Never Experienced Before," also known as the "Jo Guk Black Book," was published, with former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon participating as a co-author. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon, who co-authored the book A Country Never Experienced Before, also known as the 'Jo Guk Black Book,' said, "No one expected such an explosive response" regarding the book's great popularity.

On the 31st of last month, Jin posted on his Facebook, saying, "I expected the book wouldn't sell well but would receive a lot of criticism."

He added, "It seems there were many people quietly boiling with anger in unseen places," and said, "I honestly was indifferent to the original planning of this book because it didn't seem like it would sell much, and on the other hand, it seemed like it would require too much effort."

He continued, "I reluctantly participated (as a contributor) out of a sense of public duty similar to leaving a record in history," and analyzed the reason for the 'Jo Guk Black Book's' popularity, saying, "At the beginning, it was quite a 'courageous' task, but the atmosphere has changed within half a year."

He emphasized, "It seems they are getting a bit arrogant again because the approval rating has risen thanks to the COVID-19 situation, but they need to realize that the patience of the people is gradually approaching a critical point."

Meanwhile, A Country Never Experienced Before was published on the 25th of last month. On the day of publication, all 5,000 copies of the first edition were sold, and it has been very popular, ranking first in sales at major online bookstores.

In addition to former professor Jin, the book was co-written by Kang Yang-gu, a science journalist at the media foundation TBS; Kwon Kyung-ae, a lawyer at Haemir Law Firm; Kim Kyung-yul, co-representative of Economic Democracy 21; and Seo Min, a professor at Dankook University College of Medicine. The book deals with political, social, and economic changes revealed through the Jo Guk former Minister of Justice incident in a dialogue format.

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