The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Family of five found dead in Incheon

  • 3

    INTERVIEW'The Glory' actress Lim Ji-yeon says she wanted everyone to hate her character

  • 5

    Post-Colonialism and BTS

  • 7

    Grandson of Chun Doo-hwan hospitalized after using drugs on livestream

  • 9

    Koreans wish to work less than 40 hours per week: survey

  • 11

    Apple Pay's imminent launch in Korea draws mixed responses

  • 13

    Amorepacific President Lee Dong-soon vows to bolster presence in ASEAN, Japan, US

  • 15

    Turkish president supports Finland's NATO bid

  • 17

    Stocks fall to cap chaotic week driven by fears about banks

  • 19

    Kremlin dismisses ICC warrant for Putin

  • 2

    Malaysia looks east to Korea for future economic growth

  • 4

    BTS member Jimin's single tops iTunes charts in 110 countries

  • 6

    Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit

  • 8

    Mask mandate on public transportation to end Monday

  • 10

    Centre Pompidou's Korean branch to open in 63 Building

  • 12

    Political divide intensifies in Korea over Yoon-Kishida summit

  • 14

    ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin over Ukraine war crimes

  • 16

    ANALYSISYoon-Kishida summit may 'raise ceiling' for trilateral cooperation with US: expert

  • 18

    US House Foreign Affairs Committee members to visit Seoul next month

  • 20

    NK claims almost 800,000 people have signed up for military to fight against US

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Mon, March 20, 2023 | 19:16
Society
Audiobooks attract listeners with wide variety of content
Posted : 2023-01-26 13:57
Updated : 2023-01-26 13:57
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
A visitor to a book exhibition held at National Hangeul Museum in Seoul listens to an audiobook in this Oct. 6, 2022 file photo. Yonhap
A visitor to a book exhibition held at National Hangeul Museum in Seoul listens to an audiobook in this Oct. 6, 2022 file photo. Yonhap

Kim Se-hee has made New Year's resolutions to reduce social media use and read more books, but it was not easy for her to find dedicated time for reading after work.

The 38-year-old office worker searched for an affordable, feasible way to stick with her goal and began subscribing to Welaaa, an audiobook platform, to listen to audiobooks with her smartphones.

Since then, she has finished several books in the subway during commute hours, including "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, "Dollargut Dream Department Store" by Lee Mi-ye and a few business books.

"I used to search news with my cellphone in the subway, but now I listen to audiobooks with my earphones. I feel like using my time more wisely," Kim said. "Listening to audiobooks usually takes more time than reading paper books, but light novels read by several narrators were more enjoyable than just reading texts."

Kim is one of a growing number of people who opt for audiobooks at home, on cars and outdoors with digital gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and smart speakers, for their own reasons.

Some people just want to unplug, relax and listen to a good story, while busy millennials consume informative content to keep up with whatever zeitgeist in an information-saturated world.

While audiobooks have been widely used in English-speaking countries, only a limited selection of audiobooks, mostly for blind and visually impaired people, were available in Korea a decade ago.

The audiobook market has grown in recent years as local startups have offered a wide variety of Korean-language content to meet rising demand, especially when people spent more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To lure those who want to read classic novels, Welaaa has released a nearly 100-volume collection of world literature and drew positive reviews from its subscribers.

According to Welaaa's data, its subscribers listened to audiobooks for an average of 10.2 hours, with George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" topping the category.

"The world literature collection made into audiobooks is available anytime, anywhere, and professional narrators provide more immersive experiences of the works," Moon Tae-jin, CEO of Influential, the platform's operator, said in a release.

As demand for audio content grows, digital publishers are continuously exploring new ways to grab listeners' attention.

A visitor to a book exhibition held at National Hangeul Museum in Seoul listens to an audiobook in this Oct. 6, 2022 file photo. Yonhap
The poster of Naver Vibe's audio movie "Reverse" is seen in this photo provided by the music streaming service. Yonhap

In October, Millie's Library, the nation's leading e-book platform, released an audio drama, "Welcome to Hyunam-dong Bookstore," starring actors Oh Yeon-seo and Lee Su-hyuk. The audio drama, based on the novel under the same title, is composed of 15 episodes that last 10 minutes each.

The content drew particular attention as the e-book platform collaborated with mobile carrier KT's music streaming platform, Genie Music, to apply artificial intelligence (AI) technology to generate voices for eight out of 18 characters.

"The bestseller on Millie's Library is now available as an audio drama with star actors' voices," Kim Tae-hyung, a content business director at Millie's Library, said in a press conference. "It is meaningful that the content was produced in collaboration with Genie Music to maximize synergy of the two companies' expertise."

Major tech firms have also introduced new types of screen-free entertainment content to take a slice of the emerging market.

Naver, the nation's leading portal operator, has released audio movies through its music streaming service, Naver Vibe, starring professional actors.

In November, Naver Vibe released an audio film series, "Reverse," narrated by Lee Sun-bin, Lee Jun-hyuk and Dasom, the third project following "Far East" and "The Floor."

It presents Dolby Atmos, a surround sound technology developed for movie theaters, to deliver a compelling sound-only story.

While audio movies streamed online were relatively new to young listeners, some saw them as a retro version of radio dramas that enjoyed popularity in the 1960s and 70s.

"I was not sure about the audio movie project but accepted the offer to provide a new entertainment form to audiences," director Im Kwon-joong said during a press conference. "As a mystery thriller should constantly arouse curiosity and tension, I focused on the essence of the genre." (Yonhap)


 
LG Group
Top 10 Stories
1Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit
2Koreans wish to work less than 40 hours per week: survey Koreans wish to work less than 40 hours per week: survey
3Apple Pay's imminent launch in Korea draws mixed responses Apple Pay's imminent launch in Korea draws mixed responses
4[ANALYSIS] Yoon-Kishida summit may 'raise ceiling' for trilateral cooperation with US: expertANALYSISYoon-Kishida summit may 'raise ceiling' for trilateral cooperation with US: expert
5New EU trade policies unnerve Korean firms New EU trade policies unnerve Korean firms
6Land minister fortifies city building cooperation with Indonesia Land minister fortifies city building cooperation with Indonesia
7North Korea fires ballistic missile as US bombers join drills North Korea fires ballistic missile as US bombers join drills
8Could Doosan Robotics be valued at 1 trillion won in IPO? Could Doosan Robotics be valued at 1 trillion won in IPO?
9Bitcoin extends super-rally amid SVB fiasco Bitcoin extends super-rally amid SVB fiasco
10Woman killed in stopped car struck by bus on highway Woman killed in stopped car struck by bus on highway
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] 'The Glory' actress Lim Ji-yeon says she wanted everyone to hate her character INTERVIEW'The Glory' actress Lim Ji-yeon says she wanted everyone to hate her character
2Competition among rookie boy groups to gain momentum Competition among rookie boy groups to gain momentum
3'Dansaekhwa' master's art museum to be prominent addition to Jeju Island's cultural fabric'Dansaekhwa' master's art museum to be prominent addition to Jeju Island's cultural fabric
4Film highlights discrimination against Chosun schools in Japan Film highlights discrimination against Chosun schools in Japan
5Kim Hee-ae, Moon So-ri team up for Netflix political drama 'Queenmaker' Kim Hee-ae, Moon So-ri team up for Netflix political drama 'Queenmaker'
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group