Sales of math-related books for the period from January 1 to August 26 marked a robust year to year growth of 39.8 percent. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A person who reads math books for fun might have been regarded as eccentric in the past, but that is no longer the case – at least according to recent sales data from one of South Korea’s largest booksellers.
The online bookstore Yes24 announced on Friday that sales of math-related books for the period from January 1 to August 26 marked a robust year to year growth of 39.8 percent.
This year’s figure represents an explosive growth pace compared to a decline of 1.7 percent in 2017 and growth of 3.2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, in 2018 and 2019.
Yes24 suggested that the primary factor behind the explosive growth in sales of math books includes the ever-growing significance of mathematical thinking as the trend of the times is shifting rapidly with focus on big data and artificial intelligence.
In particular, a new appreciation of the value of mathematics is emerging as a simulation study for the spread of COVID-19 using mathematical modeling has been gaining attention in recent days.
Another factor behind the rising popularity of math-related books is the increase in the number of mass market-catering math books written by math majors with strong writing and storytelling skills.
The main readers of math books turned out to be those in their 40s, who accounted for 53.5 percent of the total, followed by those in their 50s, who accounted for 20.4 percent.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
