made around 21.7 trillion South Korean won’s worth in sales in 2020. Despite the minor growth in sales, the
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.
