The popularity of "The Man Who Lives with the King" (directed by Jang Hang-jun, hereinafter "King's Man"), which is on the verge of becoming a "10 million viewer film," is spreading to bookstores. More readers are seeking out "The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" to learn the true story of King Danjong depicted in the film, while reprints of the classic novel "The Tragic History of Danjong" have followed.
According to Kyobo Book Centre on Wednesday, sales of books with "The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" as a keyword surged 2.9 times during the roughly one-month period from the film's official release on December 4 to January 2, compared to the pre-release period. Considering that sales also increased 2.1 times compared to the same period last year, the box office success appears to have influenced book sales, Kyobo explained.
Among related titles, "Seol Min-seok's Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" (by Seol Min-seok), "The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty in One Volume" (by Park Young-gyu), and "The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty as Told by Kings" (by Jo A-ra) ranked among the top sellers. Notably, among Lee Deok-il's multi-volume "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" set, the "Sejong, Munjong, Danjong" edition attracted particular attention.
Publications of "The Tragic History of Danjong," a novel by Lee Kwang-su (1892-1950) featuring King Danjong as the protagonist, are also continuing. "The Tragic History of Danjong," serialized in the Dong-A Ilbo from 1928 to 1929, entered the public domain 70 years after the author's death.
Following the film's release, Saeum published a new edition of "The Tragic History of Danjong" last month, while Yeolimwon and The Story have begun pre-order sales ahead of their upcoming releases. The Saeum edition ranked 22nd on Kyobo Book Centre's daily bestseller list in the fiction category as of Friday, climbing 14 spots from the previous day.
"King's Man" is a historical drama that uses cinematic imagination to portray King Danjong (played by Park Ji-hoon) spending his final days with village chief Eom Heung-do (played by Yoo Hae-jin) and other villagers in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, after his dethronement. The film recently surpassed 9 million cumulative viewers, moving one step closer to the 10 million milestone.
King Danjong was born in 1441 as the only son of King Munjong and ascended to the throne as the sixth king of Joseon at age 12 in 1452. Following the Gyeyu Coup staged by Grand Prince Suyang (later King Sejo) and Han Myeong-hoe in 1453, he abdicated to Sejo in 1455 and stepped down as former king. In June 1457, he was demoted from former king to Prince Nosan and exiled to Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol, where he died in November of that year at the age of 17.