Han Kang's works fetch premium prices for limited editions

People wait in line to purchase books written by Han Kang, this year's Nobel Prize in Literature winner, at a bookstore in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)

Since Han Kang became the first South Korean novelist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, her works, especially limited editions, have become valuable premiums on the secondary market.

As of Sunday, a hand-signed first edition of Han Kang's 2007 essay collection, "Quietly Sung Songs" was listed for a 700,000 won ($518), on Junggonara, an online secondary market platform.

Another user on the same platform posted a purchase request for the first edition of Han Kang's "Human Acts," the novel that earned her Korea's Manhae Prize for Literature and Italy's Premio Malaparte. The user offered 400,000 won for a signed first edition and 200,000 won for an unsigned one.

"The Vegetarian," a critically acclaimed work that propelled the author to international fame with its 2016 International Booker Prize win, was listed there for 500,000 won. The listing is currently "reserved," indicating that a seller and buyer are finalizing the transaction.

The market hype surrounding Han Kang's work is not limited to rare book editions.

Major bookstores are struggling to keep up with the surging demand for her books, with over 300,000 copies of her works having been sold on the three major bookselling platforms -- Kyobo Bookstore, Aladdin and Yes24 – as of Friday.

Many used copies of Han Kang's works, including her latest 2021 novel, "We Do Not Part,” which won the Prix Medicis award for foreign literature in 2023, are listed for sale on local resale platform Karrot. Their prices typically range from 10,000 to 20,000 won.

Limited or first editions of Han Kang's books are listed for sale on Junggonara. (Junggonara App)

By No Kyung-min(minmin@heraldcorp.com)