Han Kang craze sweeps bookstores: S. Korean literature gains global recognition

[Anchor]

Following the news of the first South Korean Nobel Prize winner in Literature, citizens rushed to bookstores early in the morning, lining up to buy books by author Han Kang.

Online bookstore websites experienced temporary access issues due to the high traffic.

Our reporter Lee Ye-rin has the story.

[Report]

People surrounded the bookstore shelves.

["(Are there many?) Yes. There are a lot here."]

All of them are citizens gathered to buy books by author Han Kang.

[Kim Ji-heon/ Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul: "Hearing that author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature made me want to actually buy and read her book at least once."]

With hands continuously reaching for the books, the stock quickly diminishes.

The bookstore staff are busy restocking the shelves.

["Ah. That one is all sold out."]

Some bookstores even put up signs indicating that Han Kang's books were out of stock.

As citizens flocked to buy the book of a writer who achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, scenes of 'open runs' appeared, with lines forming before business hours.

[Yang Myung-sook/Head of Literature Department, Kyobo Bookstore Gwanghwamun: "We open at 9:30, but many people were actually waiting before that time. (Today) I think over 3,000 copies will be sold."]

Citizens could not hide their excitement at the fact that South Korean literature has been recognized globally.

[Kim Jong-soo/ Dobong-gu, Seoul: "The Nobel Prize in Literature is not something just anyone can receive. The fact that a woman from my country wrote a book and won the Nobel Prize in Literature is..."]

[Nam Ga-hee/ Mapo-gu, Seoul: "I heard that they gave very high marks for confronting history... I found that very moving."]

Some online bookstore websites experienced temporary access issues as well.

[Cho Seon-young/Head of Book Business Division, YES24: "In just the last couple of days, we sold over 70,000 copies of almost all three representative works. As a result, the site access became a bit slow."]

The excitement of the award is creating a 'Han Kang fever' that is spreading beyond the literary world to the bookstore industry.

KBS News, Lee Ye-rin.