By Chung Ah-young
Korean online bookstores are rushing to overseas markets as demand for Korean books are growing most likely due to the worldwide hallyu (Korean wave) phenomenon.
InterPark established a foreign branch and a distribution center which accommodates some 200,000 books in Los Angeles in October 2011 as a growing number of Koreans studying or living in the U.S. are complaining that it's hard to purchase Korean books.
According to InterPark, the sales in January from the branch site (global.interpark.com) which offers the delivery service to Canada and the United States has more than doubled from a year earlier.
The increasing sales are attributed to the opening of the distribution center as it takes only three days or less with the lower delivery cost. Previously, it took some 10 days from the order to the delivery.
"Recently many overseas Koreans are showing more interest in their native culture, particularly books," an InterPark official said.
"Also in the past few years, online bookstores have struggled with decreasing sales, facing the limitation of expanding the domestic market. So we've had to turn our eyes to overseas markets and there has been surging demand for Korean books. It is a test market before other fields such as travel services and other shopping malls are to be launched there," she said.
Yes24 is succeeding in East Asian markets. Yes24 Indonesia (www.yes24.co.id), which was launched in November in 2011, has seen more than a two-fold increase in sales in the second half of last year from the first half.
"Due to the hallyu boom in the region, the sales of Korean language textbooks are dramatically increasing. We plan to open sites in Malaysia and Thailand after establishing the local distribution centers there. The region is becoming a potential market for Korean cultural content," an official of Yes24, said.
The Indonesian branch holds a collection of a vast amount of Indonesian, English and Korean books in its local distribution center which can be dispatched immediately at minimal cost.
One of the leading bookstore chains, Bandi & Lunis, has joined this move targeting the North American market. Opening online bookstore (www.bandibookus.com) last month, it operates a quick delivery of books from Korea to the U.S. via daily flights within two days. The bookstore is planning to launch the English site soon to attract new customers who are interested in Korea as well as Koreans living there who want to know their native culture.
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| InterPark Global, a U.S. branch in Los Angeles / Courtesy of InterPark |
InterPark established a foreign branch and a distribution center which accommodates some 200,000 books in Los Angeles in October 2011 as a growing number of Koreans studying or living in the U.S. are complaining that it's hard to purchase Korean books.
According to InterPark, the sales in January from the branch site (global.interpark.com) which offers the delivery service to Canada and the United States has more than doubled from a year earlier.
The increasing sales are attributed to the opening of the distribution center as it takes only three days or less with the lower delivery cost. Previously, it took some 10 days from the order to the delivery.
"Recently many overseas Koreans are showing more interest in their native culture, particularly books," an InterPark official said.
"Also in the past few years, online bookstores have struggled with decreasing sales, facing the limitation of expanding the domestic market. So we've had to turn our eyes to overseas markets and there has been surging demand for Korean books. It is a test market before other fields such as travel services and other shopping malls are to be launched there," she said.
Yes24 is succeeding in East Asian markets. Yes24 Indonesia (www.yes24.co.id), which was launched in November in 2011, has seen more than a two-fold increase in sales in the second half of last year from the first half.
"Due to the hallyu boom in the region, the sales of Korean language textbooks are dramatically increasing. We plan to open sites in Malaysia and Thailand after establishing the local distribution centers there. The region is becoming a potential market for Korean cultural content," an official of Yes24, said.
The Indonesian branch holds a collection of a vast amount of Indonesian, English and Korean books in its local distribution center which can be dispatched immediately at minimal cost.
One of the leading bookstore chains, Bandi & Lunis, has joined this move targeting the North American market. Opening online bookstore (www.bandibookus.com) last month, it operates a quick delivery of books from Korea to the U.S. via daily flights within two days. The bookstore is planning to launch the English site soon to attract new customers who are interested in Korea as well as Koreans living there who want to know their native culture.
