Workers arrange books by Han Kang at Kyobo Books Centre's Gwanghwamun branch in central Seoul, Oct. 16. Yonhap

On Oct. 11, the day after South Korean author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in literature, a bookstore owner in Busan attempted to order her books through wholesaler Kyobo Book Centre, only to be turned away with a message that orders were not being accepted.

Left with no option, he had to turn away customers seeking Han's works. About a week later, something odd happened — 10 copies of Han's books arrived from Kyobo, although he had not placed any orders.

Around Oct. 18, independent bookstores nationwide reported receiving unsought shipments of Han's books.

"They blocked orders entirely without offering updates or even a ‘please wait'; then, when we protested against unfair practices, they just sent out books at random," the bookstore owner said.

Criticism has mounted over the "Han Kang Nobel Prize boom" being monopolized by the "Big Three" bookstores — Kyobo Book Centre, Yes24 and Aladdin — sidelining smaller, independent bookstores.

In just five days, the Big Three sold over a million copies of Han's works (including e-books), while other bookstores had to turn customers away due to a lack of stock.

The situation has exposed vulnerabilities in South Korea's publishing distribution network, which critics argue is too concentrated in the hands of a few large wholesalers and retailers.

People gather outside a bookstore run by author Han Kang in central Seoul's Seochon neighborhood, Oct. 13. Yonhap

Market centralization

According to Han Ki-ho, head of the Publishing Marketing Research Institute, "The overconcentration of distribution power is the biggest issue."

He said that the Big Three held nearly 80 percent of the market, leaving small and medium-sized bookstores struggling. Wholesale distributors have also dwindled since 2017, when the second-largest distributor Songin Books went bankrupt.

With the power of book distribution concentrated in a few large companies, regional bookstores have increasingly relied on Kyobo Book Centre, which has entered the wholesale business in recent years.

The number of regional bookstores working with Kyobo rose from 716 in 2020 to 1,100 by 2022. As of Oct. 28, Kyobo reported working with over 2,000 regional bookstores, holding a significant share of the nationwide wholesale market alongside Woongjin Books.

The current state of the publishing industry has left only "giants" standing in both wholesale and retail, as fewer people read books and independent bookstores continue to close.

In fact, the number of bookstores nationwide dropped from 3,589 in 2003 to 2,484 in 2023, a reduction of over 1,000 in just 20 years, according to the Korea Federation of Bookstore Cooperatives.

A box of unsolicited books sent by Kyobo Book Centre to an independent bookstore owner in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 19. Courtesy of the bookstore owner

A foreseeable crisis

Kyobo's involvement in both retail and wholesale has raised issues, as it could prioritize popular books for its own retail outlets over supplying other sellers. This situation was partially predicted in 2020, when Kyobo formally entered the wholesale market.

At the time, Baek Won-geun, head of the Book and Society Research Institute, wrote in a publication that "if Kyobo monopolizes the wholesale market, it will ultimately harm regional bookstores and smaller publishers," comparing it to "leaving a hungry cat in charge of the fish."

Kyobo responded to the criticism, saying that from Oct. 14 to 17, when new prints of Han's books began arriving, the company received around 17,000 copies of Han's books and supplied about 2,900 (17 percent) to regional bookstores.

Major publishers with rights to Han's works, such as Changbi Publishers, were also criticized for sending books "in proportion to the sales share" of the Big Three instead of ensuring smaller stores could stock the books.

Critics argue that, while large online retailers can handle back orders, local bookstores benefit from immediate availability of physical stock for walk-in customers.

In Paju, an independent bookstore owner wanted to create a display for Han's books and hang banners in celebration but could not secure copies.

"All the publishers holding the rights to Han's works are major players, and they currently hold all the power," he said. "If they valued the role of independent bookstores in the book ecosystem, they would have set aside copies specifically for us."

The stock for "Human Acts" is shown as "zero" on Kyobo Book Centre's website, following the store's announcement of a halt in sales of Han Kang's books until the end of the month. Captured from Kyobo Book Centre website

Baek Won-geun said, "It would have been beneficial if publishers had prioritized sales opportunities for local bookstores, which seldom get a break. Going forward, Kyobo should take this incident as a chance to embrace sustainable practices and fulfill its social responsibilities as a wholesaler."

Despite the uproar, the government has been slow to respond. An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "We are monitoring the situation and preparing a cooperative initiative between larger and smaller bookstores to promote mutual growth."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.