Joo's publishing house has released about 100 Japanese fictions since 2003. They like various genres of books, including science fiction, mystery thrillers and fantasy novel, and these areas are relatively less covered by Korean writers." "So, unlike the older generation who feel uncomfortable about Japan and Japanese products due to Korea's tragic past under the Japanese occupation, younger readers are more open-minded toward Japanese fiction. "Japanese novels are well-received particularly by the younger generations, partly because they were raised watching Japanese animation," he said. Joo Yeon-sun, the founder and president of Eunhaengnamu (maidenhair tree) Publishing Company, said the golden days for Japanese fiction in Korea was around 2010, and now they are not as popular as they once were. Since local publishing houses began to release Korean editions of Japanese fiction around the early 2000s, book sales have gone very well. The popularity of Japanese books among Korean readers is not a new phenomenon. "This indicates the local book market will be flooded with books of foreign origin as local writers will be pushed out of business," he said. They make or break publication of certain books."įollowing the popularity of Japanese fiction, he said novels written by European writers are rising. They exert enormous influence on publishers. "Their arrogance and downplaying of middlebrow books is related to the sluggish book sales of Korean fiction. Local literary critics see middlebrow fiction as something derogatory and lower-class literature, Goh said. In literary circles, he said, there has been "a dominant culture of ignorance" on middlebrow fiction, accessible books of which genre stands somewhere between highbrow and lowbrow novels, and this has lasted for decades since the 1980s.Īccording to him, most of the Japanese books that appeal to Korean readers are middlebrow fiction. He said Japanese writers are able to meet the changing tastes of Korean readers as they produce readable books, whereas Koreans fail to do so because of the hypocrisy of literary critics. lowbrow literature debate" in Korean literary circles can partly explain how Japanese fiction has been pushing Korean writers out of business. Goh Gwang-ryul, a novelist, said the "unproductive highbrow vs. The book has stayed in the top 100 best-selling books on Yes24, merely months after it was translated and published in Korea. "Solitary Castle in the Mirror" revolves around a teenage girl who dropped out of school due to bullying and then journeyed to a fictional world where other teenage victims of school bullying gathered. As of Saturday, the fantasy fiction has sold over 30,000 copies. Since it was translated and published by Hyundai Munhak in 2012, the book won Yes24's Book of the Year Award in 2013.Īnother emerging star is Mizuki Tsujimura's critically acclaimed fiction "Solitary Castle in the Mirror," which was published in May in Japan. Of the two, "Miracle of the Namiya General Store" is a steady seller. Two Japanese novels ― Gaku Yakumaru's mystery novel "Irrevocable Promise" and Higashino Keigo's steady seller "Miracle of the Namiya General Store" ― are still on the lists of top 10 best-selling books at the nation's largest bookstore Kyobo Books as well as online bookstore Yes24. Amid the sluggish publishing industry, fiction books written by Japanese authors have sold well. In terms of book sales, this year hasn't been quite different from any other recent past years. Unproductive debate pushes Korean novels behind Japanese books Japanese book section of Kyobo Bookstore in Seoul / Korea Times
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