Among the top 500 most popular library books, 74.8 percent were literature, followed by social sciences (7 percent), natural sciences (6 percent), and philosophy (2.6 percent). (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Over the last ten years, the book most borrowed by elementary and middle school students in South Korea has been “Please Look After Mom” by novelist Shin Kyung-sook, which has recently become popular overseas, according to the National Library of Korea after analyzing all book records from 844 libraries across the country between July 2009 and June of this year.
There has been a surge of interest in the South Korean bestseller overseas after the recent announcement that the book will be made into a U.S. television series.
According to KL Management, Shin signed a licensing contract with the British production company Blue Jar Pictures.
“Please Look After Mom” talks about the life of a mother and the inner workings of a family.
The book juggles the perspectives of a daughter, a son, and a husband to demonstrate the sacrifice and devotion that a mother has made to all of the family members.
Ever since the book was first published in October 2008, more than 2 million copies have been sold in South Korea.
Other popular library books include “Jajang, Jjampong, Tangsooyook” by Kim Young-joo, “The Bicycle Thief” by Park Wan-seo, and “The House for Strolling with Books” by Lee Yeong-seo.
The most popular library book by a foreign author among middle and high school students in South Korea was Richard Dawkins’ “The Selfish Gene.”
Among the top 500 most popular library books, 74.8 percent were literature, followed by social sciences (7 percent), natural sciences (6 percent), and philosophy (2.6 percent).
The most popular library book from the last 12 months was “Almond” by Sohn Won-pyung, followed by “Miracles of the Namiya General Store” by Keigo Higashino, and “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-joo.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
