The Han Kang craze: Fans hunt for books and publishers go into overdrive after Nobel Prize win

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The Han Kang craze: Fans hunt for books and publishers go into overdrive after Nobel Prize win

Published: 14 Oct. 2024, 13:16 Updated: 14 Oct. 2024, 13:18

A photo of a transcription of Han's book ″Human Acts″ (2014). [JOONGANG ILBO]

Han Kang fever is sweeping Korea after the author became the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.

The phenomenon goes beyond simply purchasing and reading Han’s works. Some fans, particularly young readers, have taken to transcribing her books as part of a trending challenge. Meanwhile, printing companies are working overtime, even on weekends, to meet the surge in orders for Han’s books.

A spate of posts featuring people transcribing Han’s works, such as "The Vegetarian" (2007) and "Human Acts" (2014), are being shared on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.

"I enjoy transcribing important phrases from my favorite books, and this challenge is my new way of celebrating Han’s Nobel Prize win," said Jung Chae-young, who shared a photo of her transcription online.

"I think this is a positive way to reflect on the book’s meaning by rereading it, and it also lets me show others why I recommend her works," said the 29-year-old.

Not just her books, but Han’s personal music playlist is also gaining attention.

"I usually listen to music a lot," said Han in a 2021 interview, mentioning songs that she listens to while writing. These include "My Song" (1995) by the late Kim Kwang-seok and "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love" (2019) by AKMU. The latter has been re-climbing the domestic music charts, reaching No. 34 on Melon on Thursday, No. 27 on Friday and soaring to No. 19 as of Monday morning.

Acquiring Han’s books has also become increasingly difficult following her historic achievement. As of Sunday morning, none of Han’s works were available to borrow at three libraries in Mapo District, western Seoul, which reporters from JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, visited on Sunday.

"We have received numerous inquiries about reserving Han’s books, but borrowing won’t be possible for another one to two months, as over 10 reservations have already been made," said an official from the Mapo Lifelong Learning Center public library.

Staff members at Hyprint printing company in Goyang, Gyeonggi, print out Han's books on Sunday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Printing houses are also experiencing their busiest days as Han’s works are flying off the shelves at bookstores. Hyprint, based in Goyang, Gyeonggi, which printed the first edition of Han’s "We Do Not Part" (2021), received 150,000 orders on Thursday, the day her Nobel Prize win was announced.

Despite most of the 50 nearby printing houses being closed on weekends, about 10 staff members at Hyprint were busy producing books.

"This is the busiest we’ve been in almost 10 years, since Han’s Booker Prize win in 2016," said Song Young-cheon, Hyprint’s deputy department head, whose eyes were bloodshot from working through the weekend. "Normally, we send the books to the publisher's logistics center, but due to the backlog, these books are going straight to bookstores."

"The industry has been struggling, but we're thrilled that Han's book we printed as a first edition is doing so well thanks to her Nobel Prize," said Um Jae-geun, head of the department at Hyprint. With most of the staff working and operating the printing devices over the weekend, the company was able to meet its delivery schedule.

A post on the online secondhand platform Joonggonara selling Han's signed book. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Pre-owned copies of Han’s works are also in high demand, with prices skyrocketing. A first edition of "The Vegetarian", signed by Han, was listed for 500,000 won ($368) on the online secondhand website Joonggonara on Saturday and sold by Monday morning. Another similar signed copy was sold at 400,000 won. Many other first editions of Han’s books are being sold for 100,000 to 200,000 won, far above their original retail price of around 15,000 won.

A 35-year-old worker, Kim Young-yeong, who usually borrows books from libraries or buys them secondhand, said he has given up trying to obtain Han’s books for now.

"I couldn’t borrow her books from the nearby library, so I attempted to buy them secondhand, but they are much more expensive than I expected," said Kim. "I guess I’ll have to wait until the craze dies down."

BY LEE BO-RAM, LEE CHAN-KYU, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]