[The Editors' Verdict] Welcome, Generation Z's "Text Hip" Trend

"Reading is so sexy."

Kaia Gerber, an American fashion model and actress, expressed this sentiment in an interview with The Guardian in the UK this past February. Well known as the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, she was born in 2001 and is considered an icon of Generation Z (those born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s).

Generation Z is a quintessentially digital-friendly generation, having been exposed to various forms of content from a young age. Yet, it is reported that they are now captivated by printed books. In fact, the number of physical books sold in the UK last year reached a record high of 669 million copies. It was Generation Z who led this trend. But is this shift happening only in the UK?

In Korea as well, Generation Z has already fallen for the emotionally rich allure of analog culture. The so-called "Text Hip" craze is gaining significant momentum. Reading paper books has become recognized as a hip culture among young people. At the "2024 Seoul International Book Fair," the largest book festival in Korea held this past June, 150,000 people attended. A significant portion of the attendees were in their 20s and 30s.

This scene runs counter to the prevailing narrative that people no longer read books. According to Statistics Korea, the average number of books read per reader in 2023 was 14.8. Ten years earlier, in 2013, the average was 17.9 books per reader. While there are annual fluctuations, the overall trend is a decline in the average number of books read per reader.

If this trend continues, an era in which people barely read books may eventually arrive. Just as pessimism about reading was spreading, an unexpected savior appeared. Who could have predicted that the most digitally savvy generation would spark an analog culture boom? The Text Hip phenomenon reflects Generation Z's tendency to reject the ordinary.

On the afternoon of May 9, students are reading books at the 'Book Picnic' event held on the lawn of Sungkyunkwan University Natural Science Campus in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Revealing oneself reading a book also adds an intellectual image. More people are posting photos of book covers they've read or sharing their thoughts on social media. This is also connected to the phenomenon of famous singers and actors showing themselves reading paper books, which their fans then emulate.

For this reason, some see Generation Z's reading craze as just another passing trend. However, we should consider whether we are unfairly dismissing the unique characteristics of another generation by viewing them solely through the lens of older generations.

Regardless of the hidden background behind the Text Hip phenomenon, what matters is that such behavior can serve as a catalyst for social change. Reading is a bridge that transcends the boundaries of generations and eras. How delightful it is to see young people immersing themselves in a world that expands the uniquely human sensibility. "I See You Like I See a Flower," a poetry collection published eight years ago by poet Na Taejoo, who was born in 1945, is now a bestseller in the poetry category at Kyobo Bookstore this year. It is not unusual to see Generation Z reading an old poetry book by a white-haired poet approaching 80 years old.

This means that Generation Z is also experiencing the joy of gifting poetry collections to friends. They, too, have discovered that a poetry book given as a gift can make someone's heart beat with excitement. The delightful secret that the feast of verses encountered with each page turn can gently disarm the rigidity of our lives...

What might happen if the Text Hip craze spreads to other generations? Just imagining Generation Z breathing new life into neighborhood bookstores that were fading away is enough to be exhilarating.

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