(Well, the Pacific. But the alliteration is nice, isn't it?)
Hidden underground in the finance district of Seoul is the largest mall in Korea- and a bookstore so vast I teared up when I first laid eyes on it. "This," I thought, "is worth the twenty something subway stops next to the suit who had too much soju with lunch."
Finding books in English is one of the great challenges of living abroad, and Bandi and Luni's Bookstore has a fabulous selection of foreign lit. I know from talking with my students that Western fiction has its place on the bestseller lists with Korean youth; I've had more than one class derail at the mention of Harry Potter. Wandering the aisles today, I thought it might be fun to compare what's hot from the East and West in Korean YA.
I started in the English section and discovered one long shelf dedicated to "junior fiction." Among these were the usual suspects, as well as some surprises.
And, of course, others that shall not be named.
In comparison with my memory of the teen section of Barnes and Nobles back in the U.S., I see a heavy focus in Korea on literary, fantasy, and sci-fi YA. What's missing is the lighter, more vacant chick-lit reads (ala Gossip Girl).
Heading over to the Korean children's section, I did my best to track down the teen books with my very limited knowledge of Hangul. Do I even need to tell you what dominated?
It was also easy to find popular U.S. lit translated into Hangul.
Here's what I found in the children's section that I don't see enough of in the U.S.: Series after series of fun, colorful, helpful resources for school. The selection of history books aimed at kids rivaled the size of the manga section, I kid you not.
Check out the inside (and the illustration of Lincoln meeting his untimely demise):
What I love about Korea: Despite the sometimes insane gaming culture here, kids and adults still read. A lot. I've been to this bookstore twice, both times on a weekday in the afternoon, and this was the scene on both occasions:
Or, in the case of the gentlemen next to me on my way here, a bottle of booze.
Nice!
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity (for the new girl) why is there a delay in publishing titles abroad? Do the publishers want to wait and see how a book does in the states first? Or do they go through more negotiations to have it translated and sold to a foreign publishing company?
I think it's a combination. The book has to be edited in the new language- even British books have American editors and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteAs far as selling the original English version overseas, they probably just wait to see how successful it is. When I was in Brazil the selection was pitiful. Nothing recent at all, except for the few major bestsellers. (Even HP 7 arrived months after its US/UK release.)
M,
ReplyDeleteThanks for an awesome post! I really loved the photos and the way you compared and detailed the differences between English language and Korean language offerings, trends, and cultural interests. A fascinating post - great job!
Love it! It's so awesome to see how things are in other cultures, since I'm uncool and have barely been anywhere. I love your pictures, too!
ReplyDelete