"Human Acts" by author Han Kang has emerged as the most borrowed book at public libraries across Korea this year.
According to "Data4library," an integrated data platform operated by the National Library of Korea covering 1,587 public libraries nationwide, "Human Acts" recorded 15,519 loans between January 1 and April 29, ranking first, the platform said Friday. Han's "We Do Not Part" followed in second place with 12,137 loans. The novel has drawn continued reader interest after becoming the first Korean novel to win the National Book Critics Circle Award in March this year.
Fiction showed a strong presence in the library loan rankings. Seven of the top 10 most borrowed books were Korean novels, including two by Han Kang. "Honmono" by Sung Hae-na and "I Said Goodbye" by Kim Ae-ran ranked third and fourth, respectively. "Honmono" surpassed 400,000 copies sold within a year of publication, while "I Said Goodbye" has drawn attention as its author recently made her first television appearance. They were followed by Kim Ho-yeon's "The Uncanny Convenience Store" in fifth, Yang Gui-ja's "Contradiction" in sixth, and Gu Byeong-mo's "Jeolchang" in seventh.
From eighth to 30th place, the children's bestseller series "Common Siblings" dominated the rankings. A total of 19 volumes from the series were included in the top 30 loans. First published in 2019, the "Common Siblings" series comically depicts incidents between a brother and sister and has been especially popular among lower-grade elementary school students.
Meanwhile, as of March, the most searched keyword in library loans nationwide was "love" with 48,354 queries, followed by "Na Tae-ju," "life," "heart" and "person."
