Novel 'Pachinko' Acquired by Influential... Re-translated Version to be Published Around August

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The novel "Pachinko" by author Lee Min-jin, which has gained attention as it is being adapted into an Apple TV+ drama, will be republished by the publishing company Influential. The advance payment is reported to be over 1 billion KRW. This amount significantly exceeds the initially proposed minimum advance of $200,000 (approximately 245.9 million KRW).

According to the publishing industry on the 3rd, Eric Yang Agency, which handles the rights contract for the author, notified Influential of contract approval on the 29th of last month. It is said that about ten domestic publishers competed to secure the rights contract.

A representative from Influential stated, "Although the contract is not yet finalized, we plan to complete the contract signing and finalize the rights contract procedures within this week."

According to industry sources, the amount offered by Influential was not the highest. It appears that the author Lee Min-jin's side considered Influential's capability to publish bestsellers more than the advance payment. Influential is the publisher of bestsellers such as "The Midnight Library," which sold 350,000 copies, as well as "The Courage to Be Disliked" and "Myunggyeonmanri."

Due to issues related to the existing contract with Munhak Sasang, the translation will be redone. It is expected to take about 2 to 3 months until publication. "Pachinko" was previously published domestically in 2018 through Munhak Sasang Publishing, but the rights contract expired on the 21st of last month.

Meanwhile, it is reported that author Lee Min-jin will visit Korea in September to tour Yeongdo, Busan, the setting of "Pachinko."

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