The Golden Age of Scriptbooks... 'My Mister' Tops Kyobo Bookstore Pre-orders

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] According to a survey by Kyobo Bookstore, sales in the drama and scenario category increased by 2.7 times compared to the same period last year (January 1 to March 14). After a surge of interest in the screenplay book for the movie Parasite in 2020, sales had slowed down, but this year they have risen sharply, far surpassing previous sales figures.

The best-selling screenplay book this year was Our Beloved Summer, followed by the book on screenplay writing, SAVE THE CAT!: The 8 Principles of Successful Movie Screenplays. Although the number of screenplay books published each year is relatively small, around 50 to 60 titles, it increased significantly to 82 titles in 2021.

As screenplay books, which were not a popular genre, showed remarkable success in sales, recently there has been a series of publications of screenplays from famous dramas. The well-made drama My Mister, which had a strong word-of-mouth reputation, is scheduled to release its screenplay book four years after the show ended (scheduled for March 30), and it is currently ranked number one in the online weekly bestseller list in the arts category through pre-orders alone. Other titles such as Thirty-Nine, Those Who Read the Minds of Evil, Work Later, Drink Now, The Red Sleeve Cuff, Hellbound, and The Mathematician in a Strange Land are also lined up for publication, heralding the dawn of a screenplay book golden age.

Looking at the buyers of screenplay books, women accounted for 74.1% and men 25.9%, showing a higher proportion of female readers. By age group, people in their 20s made up 36.2%, the largest share, followed by those in their 30s at 28.5%. It is notable that the genre is especially popular among younger readers.

Kim Hyunjung, in charge of bestsellers, said, “It was common to see original novels or webtoons becoming bestsellers when dramas and movies based on them gained popularity, but now it seems that fans of the dramas themselves often read famous lines and recall scenes from the shows,” adding, “As the quality of Korean drama works improves, the response to drama screenplays in bookstores is expected to remain positive.”

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