Sung Hae-na's short story collection "Honmono," released last spring and at the center of literary attention, has surpassed 400,000 copies sold within a year. Changbi Publishers announced Monday that it will release a hardcover limited edition to commemorate the milestone.
"Honmono" rapidly expanded its readership through word of mouth immediately after its release last year. The book is considered a meaningful achievement given that a short story collection, rather than a full-length novel, resonated with a broad readership, and that a young writer accomplished such a feat. Sung has established herself as a notable figure in the cultural and artistic community, winning the Young Artist of Today Award.
"Honmono" created a reading phenomenon through spontaneous recommendations centered on online bookstores and social networking services (SNS), ranking first in reader polls at several daily newspapers and the online bookstore Aladin. The collection also proved its literary merit by winning the 43rd Shin Dong-yup Literary Award. The award committee noted, "The theme of fidelity to the 'real' that runs through the collection embodies a weightier social dimension, and encountering such a vividly realized sense of the world is a rare and welcome experience."
The special limited edition features a design that draws on the key imagery of the original cover while twisting and varying it. Changbi said the hardcover limited edition was designed so that readers can own the beloved story with a fresh sensibility.
