**National Library of Korea Analyzes Borrowing Status of Han Kang’s Books**
**10th-13th: 11,356 borrowings, a 14-fold increase
1st in borrowing: ‘The Vegetarian’; 2nd: ‘Human Acts’**
[Reporter Jang Byeong-ho from Edaily] The impact of Han Kang, the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, is being felt not only in bookstores but also in public libraries.
The National Library of Korea announced on the 19th that they analyzed 3,486,207 borrowing records using the library’s big data analysis platform “Library Information Naru” and released the results concerning the borrowing status of Han Kang’s books in public libraries. This analysis focused on 20 works by Han Kang that are held across 1,499 public libraries nationwide, excluding her award-winning collections and translated works.
According to the data, borrowings of Han Kang’s works surged from 805 to 11,356 from October 10th to 14th, marking an explosive increase of 1,310.7% in just five days.
After the announcement of her Nobel Prize win, an average of three books were borrowed per minute. On October 11th, the day after the award announcement, Han Kang’s books occupied the top 10 spots in borrowing rankings, demonstrating her powerful influence.
The major readership consisted of women, those in their 60s and 20s, with Jeonnam highlighted as a key region.
Comparing overall borrowings from October 10th to 14th with those of Han Kang’s works, the data showed women (0.65%) had a higher borrowing rate than men (0.42%). By age group, those in their 60s (1.69%) borrowed the most, followed by those in their 20s (1.61%) and 50s (1.31%). Regionally, Jeonnam (1.68%) led, followed by Gyeongbuk (1.38%), Gangwon (1.28%), and Jeonbuk (1.22%).
The most borrowed book was “The Vegetarian” with 1,382 borrows, followed by “Human Acts” (1,178), “The Boy is Coming” (1,152), and “The White Book” (824).