KOREAN NET

Books by novelist Han Kang, this year's winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, on the afternoon of Oct. 10 are displayed at Kyobo Book Centre in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Hyelin

Domestic libraries are seeing a surge of interest in the works of novelist Han Kang, winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

Data released by the National Library of Korea's analytics platform Library Bigdata on Oct. 14 said Han's 2021 book "I Do Not Bid Farewell" ranked first among books borrowed from libraries nationwide.

The platform provides statistics on borrowed books at 1,499 public libraries across the country.

"I Do Not Bid Farewell" jumped from 445th in the book loan rankings from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 to third the next week from Oct. 7-13.

Demand for the book skyrocketed on Oct. 10 after Han was announced as the nation's second Nobel laureate.

Another of her bestsellers, "Human Acts," also jumped to second in the national weekly statistics from 178th over the same period.

"The Vegetarian," which in 2016 earned Han global fame by winning the U.K.'s Man Booker International Prize for Fiction, also jumped from 166th to No. 1.

kimhyelin211@korea.kr