'Pachinko' novel publishing contract up in the air

Munhak Sasang halted online sales of the best-selling novel "Pachinko" on April 13. Screenshot from Yes24

By Lee Yeon-woo

Following the popularity of Apple TV+ drama "Pachinko," a growing number of Korean readers are seeking the Korean-translated version of the original novel. But it has become ― and may be for some more time ― challenging to spot volumes of the two-part book on the bookshelves in Korea due to a publishing contract issue.

Munhak Sasang, which made the first publishing contract for a Korean version of the book here in 2018, announced its failure to renew the contract on April 21, the last day of the contract. During the negotiations, the publishing company gradually retrieved the remaining copies of the book from offline bookstores and stopped selling them online on April 12.

It is known in publishing circles that the Eric Yang Agency, representing author Min Jin Lee, asked for a minimum guarantee of $200,000 in royalties as a condition for the deal. Popular authors tend to receive royalties at the time of contract and additional payments are made later on if more books are sold than expected.

Munhak Sasang said it is not participating in the bidding for a new contract.

"I heard that the minimum guarantee price for a new deal would be around that amount ($200,000)," said Lim Ji-hyun, the CEO of Munhak Sasang, adding that she doesn't know the exact amount, because the deals between such agencies and publishing companies are confidential.

While some media reports said that the suggested royalties amount to tenfold what the author made in the original 2018 contract with Munhak Sasang, Lim said, "To be honest, it's more than that." She also expected $200,000 to be the initial amount of royalties before subsequent payments.

The Eric Yang Agency was not available for comment.

While no Korean publishing company has signed a new deal with the agency yet, it is expected that large-scale companies will be eager to reach a deal, considering the drama's popularity and the possibility of a second season produced of the series.

People in the publishing industry expect the price of the books to go up if the new contract reflects the request of the agency. Munhak Sasang had been selling the two volumes for around 26,000 won ($20.6) for both.

Meanwhile, the unresolved contract issue means that Korean readers are having a hard time finding the books. There are cases where the books are being resold at higher prices via online secondhand markets, while many public libraries already have waiting lists to reserve them for borrowing.

"I managed to purchase the two-volume set on April 12 just before online sales were suspended. I was lucky that I had heard the news in advance. I have plenty of friends who want to borrow the books after I finish them," an office worker in Seoul surnamed Jun said.

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