Viral 'text hip' trend boosts bookstore sales, brings literature to food aisles

Young Koreans are embracing reading as a lifestyle statement, a trend reflected in rising bookstore sales and literary-themed products. Bookstore sales increased 8.5 percent year-on-year from January to September, while people in their 20s recorded the strongest growth. Publishers and food companies have brought literature to convenience stores and workplace cafeterias through collectible bookmarks, poetry-printed gum and a seasonal pastry. The trend contrasts with a low overall adult reading rate, although reading among people in their 20s edged up.

Samsung Card Data Lab said people in their 20s and 30s accounted for 26 percent of bookstore sales in the January-September period.

Spending by people in their 20s rose 5 percent year-on-year, while spending by people in their 30s increased 3 percent.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism survey found that 38.5 percent of adults said they had read at least one book in 2025; the rate among people in their 20s was 75.3 percent.

Minumsa and GS25 launched a literary-themed cream bun in late August, and the collaboration sold 2 million buns in less than two months.

Samsung Welstory and Changbi are running the Autumn Bookstore program at more than 120 cafeterias nationwide from Oct. 29 to Nov. 13.

Published Nov 4, 2026 7:00 am KST

A visitor browses books at the Gwanghwamun branch of Kyobo Book Centre in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

For years after graduating from college, Park, an office worker in her early 30s, barely set foot in a bookstore. Having spent so much of her academic life buried in texts, she thought her days of reading for pleasure were behind her.

Then came October 2024, when Han Kang, author of the International Booker Prize-winning novel “The Vegetarian,” became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

“I remember going to Kyobo’s Gwanghwamun branch and being overwhelmed by the crowds of people trying to get their hands on Han's books,” she said. “That’s when I realized reading didn’t have to feel like an obligation. It could be something you enjoy for its own sake and share with other people.”

The experience was made all the more appealing by the growing array of literary accessories — from fabric book covers and book pouches to bookmarks, paperweights and decorative book rings — that added an aesthetic dimension to the hobby.

Since then, visiting bookstores has become a regular pastime for Park. Her most recent visit, a week ago, was to pick up “Autobiography of Red” by Canadian novelist Anne Carson, who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature.

She also joined a book club this year devoted to 20th-century classics around the world, where she found herself among fellow readers mostly in their late 20s and 30s.

Park is among the growing number of young Koreans caught up in the so-called “text-hip” trend, which has recast reading as more than an intellectual pursuit. It has become a lifestyle statement — a way to express personal taste and cultivate an aesthetic.

Viral literary-themed cream buns launched by publisher Minumsa in partnership with convenience store chain GS25. The collaboration sold 2 million buns in less than two months. Korea Times photo by Kim Na-yeon

The shift is reflected in bookstore sales.

According to Samsung Card Data Lab, bookstore sales rose 8.5 percent year-on-year in the January-September period, reversing a decline that had persisted since 2023.

People in their 20s and 30s accounted for 26 percent of total sales, with those in their 20s posting the strongest growth. Their spending rose 5 percent from a year earlier, followed by a 3 percent increase among people in their 30s.

The figures contrast with a broader decline in reading among Korean adults. According to a survey by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, just 38.5 percent of adults said they have read at least one book in 2025. The reading rate among people in their 20s, however, edged up to 75.3 percent.

The reading boom is also finding its way into an unexpected place: food aisles.

Minumsa, one of the country’s largest publishers, teamed up with convenience store chain GS25 in late August to launch a literary-themed cream bun that quickly went viral. Each bun came with one of 20 collectible bookmarks featuring the covers of classics such as “Les Misérables” and “Pride and Prejudice.” The collaboration sold 2 million buns in less than two months.

In October, confectionery maker Lotte Wellfood partnered with publisher Bookk to release four limited-edition varieties of chewing gum. Billed as “a poetry collection in the palm of your hand” each features specific lines of poetry printed on its wrapper.

Even workplace cafeterias are joining in. Samsung Welstory, a food service provider, is partnering with publisher Changbi to run its Autumn Bookstore program at more than 120 cafeterias nationwide from Oct. 29 to Nov. 13.

The promotion pairs seasonal food with literature, including an “autumn book bun” made with rice dough, whole red bean paste and maple jam. Shaped like a maple leaf, the pastry comes with a matching bookmark printed with lines of poetry.

‘The Vegetarian’ by Han Kang voted top favorite among Int’l Booker Prize winners

韩国年轻人正将阅读视为一种生活方式，这一趋势体现在书店销售额的增长和文学主题产品的流行上。今年1月至9月，书店销售额同比增长8.5%，其中20多岁人群的增幅最为显著。出版商和食品公司通过推出收藏版书签、印有诗歌的口香糖和季节限定糕点等产品，将文学带入便利店和公司食堂。尽管20多岁人群的阅读率略有上升，但这一趋势与较低的成人整体阅读率形成鲜明对比。

三星信用卡数据实验室表示，1月至9月期间，20多岁和30多岁的人群占书店销售额的26%。

20多岁人群的支出同比增长5%，而30多岁人群的支出同比增长3%。

文化、体育和旅游部的一项调查发现，38.5% 的成年人表示他们在 2025 年至少读过一本书；20 多岁的人群中这一比例为 75.3%。

Minumsa 和 GS25 在 8 月下旬推出了一款文学主题的奶油面包，该合作款面包在不到两个月的时间里售出了 200 万个。

三星 Welstory 和 Changbi 将于 10 月 29 日至 11 月 13 日在全国 120 多家食堂开展秋季书店活动。

发布于2026年11月4日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

周二，一名顾客在首尔钟路区教保书店光化门分店浏览书籍。（韩联社）

大学毕业后的几年里，三十出头的上班族朴女士几乎没怎么去过书店。她大学期间大部分时间都埋头于书本，以为自己再也没有享受过阅读的乐趣了。

随后到了 2024 年 10 月，凭借国际布克奖获奖小说《素食者》的作者韩江成为第一位获得诺贝尔文学奖的亚洲女性。

“我记得当时去教保出版社光化门分店，被挤满人的人群震撼了，大家都想买到韩的作品，”她说。“那时我意识到，读书不必是一种义务。它可以是一种纯粹的享受，也可以与他人分享。”

文学配件的日益丰富——从布艺书套、书袋到书签、镇纸和装饰性书环——为这项爱好增添了美学维度，使阅读体验更具吸引力。

从那时起，逛书店就成了朴女士的日常消遣。她最近一次去书店是在一周前，目的是购买加拿大小说家安妮·卡森的《红色自传》，卡森获得了今年的诺贝尔文学奖。

今年她还加入了一个致力于阅读世界各地 20 世纪经典作品的读书俱乐部，在那里她发现自己的读者大多是 20 多岁到 30 多岁的人。

朴是越来越多沉迷于所谓“短信潮”的韩国年轻人之一，这种潮流已经将阅读重新定义为一种生活方式，而不仅仅是一种智力活动。阅读已经成为一种生活方式的体现——一种表达个人品味和培养审美的方式。

韩国出版社Minumsa与便利店连锁GS25合作推出的文学主题奶油面包爆红网络。这款合作款面包在不到两个月的时间内售出200万个。图片由《韩国时报》金娜妍拍摄。

这种转变反映在书店的销售额上。

根据三星信用卡数据实验室的数据，今年1月至9月，书店销售额同比增长8.5%，扭转了自2023年以来持续下滑的趋势。

20多岁和30多岁的人群占总销售额的26%，其中20多岁的人群增长最为强劲。他们的消费额比上年同期增长了5%，30多岁的人群增长了3%。

这些数据与韩国成年人阅读量整体下降的趋势形成鲜明对比。根据韩国文化体育观光部的一项调查，仅有38.5%的成年人表示他们在2025年至少读过一本书。然而，20多岁人群的阅读率略微上升至75.3%。

阅读热潮也蔓延到了一个意想不到的地方：食品区。

菲律宾最大的出版社之一Minumsa于8月下旬与便利店连锁GS25合作，推出了一款文学主题奶油面包，迅速走红网络。每个面包都附赠20款收藏版书签中的一款，书签上印有《悲惨世界》和《傲慢与偏见》等经典文学作品的封面。此次合作在不到两个月的时间里就售出了200万个面包。

10月，糖果制造商乐天Wellfood与出版社Bookk合作，推出了四款限量版口香糖。每款口香糖都以“掌中诗集”为主题，包装上印有特定的诗句。

就连公司食堂也加入了这场盛会。餐饮服务供应商三星Welstory与出版社昌比合作，将于10月29日至11月13日在全国120多家食堂开展“秋季书店”活动。

此次促销活动将时令美食与文学作品相结合，其中包括一款名为“秋日书包”的糕点，它由米粉、红豆沙和枫糖浆制成，外形酷似枫叶，并配有印有诗句的同款书签。

韩江的《素食主义者》在国际布克奖获奖作品中被评为最受欢迎的作品。