Three Trends That Shook the Bookstore Scene in 2023: 'Say No', 'Maheun', and 'Slam Dunk'

Best Sellers Shift from Self-Development and Fandom
Keywords Changing from Thirty to Forty

Bestsellers are indicators that can gauge social interests. Since money flows to areas of interest, tracing back where consumption is concentrated allows us to understand the social concerns. Where did the public's attention turn in 2023? We explored this through bestseller sales trends in bookstores.

The Self-Development Book Boom Led by ‘Saeino-ui Gareuchim’

If you were to pick just one book this year, it would not be an exaggeration to say it is ‘Saeino-ui Gareuchim’ (The Teachings of Say No). Published on March 2, it maintained a spot in the top 10 overall bestsellers for 39 consecutive weeks (according to Yes24). The public strongly resonated with the faceless author's teaching to ‘Say No’ to societal conventions imposed by society. The fact that the author is a billionaire with assets worth over 100 billion won also attracted public interest. The free release of the e-book, showing no intention to profit from the book, was also refreshing to the public. The paper book, priced at half the market price, ranked first in the overall bestseller lists of Kyobo Bookstore and Yes24. This book led the self-development book craze that gained attention this year. The top three overall bestsellers of Kyobo Bookstore’s annual list were all self-development books. Following ‘Saeino-ui Gareuchim’ were Gary Keller’s ‘The One Thing’ (Business Books) and Jachang’s ‘Yeokhaengja’ (Woojinn Knowledge House).

‘Slam Dunk’ Comics Leading Fandom Culture

At the beginning of January, the release of the theatrical animation ‘The First Slam Dunk’ sparked a Slam Dunk syndrome. In the first quarter, 22 Slam Dunk-related books ranked within the top 50 overall bestsellers on Yes24. Within the annual top 100 overall bestsellers, 21 titles were included. Breaking the stereotype that women in their 30s and 40s dominate the publishing market, purchases by men in their 30s and 40s stood out. According to Yes24 data from the first week of January, the proportion of buyers in their 30s and 40s was 87.68%, with men accounting for 86.04% of that group. Attention from teenagers and people in their 20s was also high. On June 14, at the Seoul International Book Fair held at COEX in Gangnam, a long line formed at the Slam Dunk booth for purchasing comics and goods. Other notable books included ‘Beyond the Story’ (BIGHIT MUSIC) about BTS, ‘The Unknown Story of Lim Young-woong’ (Hans Media), and ‘The Omniscient Pu Bao’s Perspective’ (Wisdom House) about Pubao.

Books Comforting the Anxiety of ‘Forty’

This year, the keyword ‘forty’ received particular attention. The book ‘Kim Mi-kyung’s Forty Lessons’ (Awake Books), which offers comfort and advice to those in their forties, ranked 7th in Kyobo Bookstore’s annual bestseller list and 2nd on Yes24. More than 20 books with the keyword ‘forty’ were published this year. Currently, ‘Schopenhauer to Read at Forty’ (Yuno Books) has held the number one bestseller spot for over four weeks as of the second week of December according to Kyobo Bookstore. The shift in focus from the previously highly noted ‘thirty’ keyword to ‘forty’ is analyzed to be because the authors and readers who led that trend have now entered their forties. Kim Mi-kyung, who published ‘Sister’s Harsh Words for the Shaky Thirties’ in 2011, shifted her focus to forty. Dr. Kim Hye-nam, a psychoanalyst who published ‘Asking Psychology at Thirty’ (Galleon) in 2008, also released ‘If I Were to Live Life Again’ (Maven) at the end of last year, offering advice to readers who have turned forty. This book ranked 14th in Yes24’s annual overall bestseller list.

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