Publishing industry in South Korea - statistics & facts

The South Korean publishing industry made around 21.7 trillion South Korean won’s worth in sales in 2020. Despite the minor growth in sales, the annual reading rate among adults in South Korea has been declining over the past decade, with two exceptions: e-books and audiobooks. The other major exception included educational material, which is a major sector in the domestic publishing industry. While printed books are still ahead of other mediums, with a roughly 41 percent annual readership rate in 2021, this nevertheless represents a significant decline from over 71 percent in 2013.

Educational publishing in South Korea

In a country where a large emphasis is placed on attaining good grades and higher education, publishing educational materials will naturally become a significant market. An average of 75.5 percent of all students in South Korea attended private education (hagwon) after school in order to receive tutoring or get ahead of the material. Such institutions are attended by children of all ages, ranging from elementary to high school students. On average, students spend an additional 6.7 hours in private education per week on top of their regular schooling. As a result, with one exception, every major Korean publisher specializes in textbooks and other educational materials.

Shift from print to digital reading

E-books, a relative newcomer to the market, have seen annual reading rates increase to 19 percent by 2021. The convenience and accessibility of e-books compared to carrying around printed books were considered the main advantages in a 2021 survey. Several more established sectors have seen their industry shift from print to digital; Korean comics (manhwa), which have been popular publications for decades, have long since made the move from print to digital comics. Around 72 percent of comic readers exclusively read digital comics or webtoons in 2022, while about 26 percent read a mixture of digital and print comics. The news industry has also experienced this shift, with 79 percent of Koreans getting their news online in 2022, while only 16 percent accessed print news.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 20, 2023

Key insights

Market size
273.7bn KRW
Industry sales revenue
24.7tr KRW
Leading publisher
Woongjin ThinkBig
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Annual reading rate among adults in South Korea in selected years between 2011 and 2021, by type of publication

Books & Publishing

Annual adult reading rate in South Korea 2011-2021, by publication type

Number of new book issues put into circulation in South Korea from 2019 to 2021 (in millions)

Books & Publishing

Amount of new book issues circulated in South Korea 2019-2021

Sales revenue of the comic industry in South Korea in 2021, by segment (in billion South Korean won)

Books & Publishing

Sales revenue comic industry South Korea 2021, by segment

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e-book market

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Newspapers and magazines

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Manhwa market

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Digital publishing in China
Digital publishing in China
Creative content industry in South Korea
Creative content industry in South Korea
Webtoon industry in South Korea
Webtoon industry in South Korea
Publishing industry in Japan
Publishing industry in Japan
Traditional media usage in South Korea
Traditional media usage in South Korea

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