Last Year's Library Keywords: Han Kang, AI, Politics... Women in Their 40s Lead the Trend

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Last year, libraries across South Korea were abuzz with works by Han Kang, who was honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature, practical books on artificial intelligence (AI) that have become part of daily life, and Buddhist and philosophical books that offer comfort for the mind.

According to the "2025 Book Lending Trends" report released by the National Library of Korea on January 29, which analyzed data from 1,583 public libraries nationwide, the total number of books borrowed last year reached 138.54 million. This represents a 3.6% increase compared to the previous year. The key demographic driving this upward trend was women in their 40s. In terms of timing, library usage peaked in August, the summer vacation season.

Last year, Korean literature accounted for 34.61 million loans, a 9.8% increase from the previous year. This set a new all-time record, representing 65.9% of all literature loans and 25% of total book loans.

The main driver of this growth was, without question, Han Kang. Four of her works ranked in the top 10 most borrowed books: "The Boy Is Coming" (ranked first with 60,504 loans), "The Vegetarian" (second), "I Do Not Bid Farewell" (third), and "White" (seventh).

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Beyond the popularity of individual authors, there was a marked trend of "digging" - readers delving deeply into a single author’s body of work. In Han Kang's case, an impressive 17 of her works were ranked within the top 1,000 most borrowed books.

This phenomenon extended to genre literature as well. Thriller writer Jung Haeyeon had 13 works in the rankings, while horror and fantasy author Cho Yoeun had 11. Additionally, Yang Gwija’s 1998 steady seller "Contradiction" ranked sixth overall, demonstrating the robust blend of new and established voices in Korean literature.

In the non-fiction category, lending trends shifted dramatically. Loans of economics books, which previously accounted for the largest share (33.3%), fell by 4.4% compared to the previous year. In contrast, computer science (21.1%), Buddhism (15.2%), and political science (13.9%) each saw double-digit growth rates.

As generative AI became more commonplace, practical guides such as Park Tae-woong's "AI Lecture 2025" drove a 21.1% surge in computer science book loans. The growing sense of social uncertainty also led to a notable 13.9% increase in demand for political books.

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Books on Buddhism and Western philosophy also saw significant gains. In particular, Kang Yongsoo's "Schopenhauer Read at Forty" (the top non-fiction book) and Koike Ryunosuke's "The Buddha's Words: New Translation" (third in non-fiction) led this trend.

Analysis of user data showed that women accounted for 74.69 million loans (53.9%), about 1.6 times more than men, who borrowed 46.7 million books (33.7%). By age group, people in their 40s made up the largest share at 31.8%, followed by elementary school students (15.4%) and people in their 30s (14.1%).

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Seasonally, August - when summer vacations and school breaks overlap - saw the highest number of loans at 13.22 million (9.5%), indicating that "bookcation" has become a cultural phenomenon. In contrast, October, when outdoor activities are most appealing, saw the lowest monthly lending rate at 7.1%.

Lee Hyunjoo, Head of Digital Information Planning at the National Library of Korea, stated, "Last year’s statistics reflect the expansion of literary fandom, as well as the complex desires of modern people who seek both practical skills (AI) and spiritual comfort (philosophy) at the same time."

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