"This Year, I Must Read Books"... Interest in Reading-Related Services Has Greatly Increased

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] More than a month has passed since the new year began, and with Lunar New Year approaching, more people are revising their New Year's resolutions made at the beginning of the year. Especially this year, as the time spent at home has increased due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, interest in online services related to reading has been growing.

According to the "2021 Bungaejangter New Year Hobby Report," which analyzed used transaction data from the secondhand platform Bungaejangter in January this year, the number of transactions in the "Books" category increased by 174% compared to January last year. This is the highest growth rate among hobby-related categories, surpassing "Fishing & Camping" at 134%, "Hiking" at 71%, and "Health, Yoga & Golf" at 60%.

In particular, transactions of business, economics, and self-development books increased sevenfold compared to last year, while educational, dictionary, and reference books tripled. In these two categories, users under 25 and those aged 25 to 34 accounted for about 86% of the transactions.

Trevari, a community service based on reading groups, also saw online reading group memberships exceed 20% of paid members in January this year. Trevari has launched eight themed online reading groups, including groups for marketers, planners, freelancers to share industry trends, and groups to develop healthy stock investment skills. The launch of online reading groups was decisively influenced by the opinions of Trevari members.

Yoon Soo-young, CEO of Trevari, said, "Members who participated in online meetings due to COVID-19 have sent a lot of positive feedback," adding, "We have gained confidence that Trevari's unique experience can also be provided online."

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