They Say No One Reads Anymore... But Movies, YouTube, and the Stock Market Are Creating Bestsellers

Movies, YouTube, and the Stock Market Shake Up Bookstores in the First Half of the Year:
A New Formula for Book Sales
"Project Hail Mary" Sees 923% Surge in Release Month
1,589 AI-Related Titles Published

The statement that books are being reread is only half true. More accurately, the way books are being sold is changing. In the first half of this year, what drove the bookstore market was not just new book marketing. External events such as movie releases, YouTube recommendations, stock market rallies, and the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) boosted book sales. A new structure is taking root, where readers are prompted to seek out books after becoming interested through content platforms and changes in society, rather than discovering books inside bookstores.

Andy Weir's 2021 work "Project Hail Mary" is a prime example. This book, which ranked first on Yes24's comprehensive bestsellers list for the first half of the year, saw a sharp increase in sales following the film's release. Still cut from the movie "Project Hail Mary"

According to the "2025 National Reading Survey" recently released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on June 2, the overall adult reading rate stood at just 38.5%. While the decline in the reading population has continued, certain books have recorded explosive sales. Rather than a sudden increase in the inherent competitiveness of books themselves, new demand has been created as books connect with movies, YouTube, the stock market, and AI.

Bestsellers Created by Movies and YouTube

Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary," which topped the comprehensive bestseller list for the first half of the year, was originally published in 2021. Following the release of the movie, sales surged, propelling the book back into the bestseller ranks. Based on Yes24 sales data, monthly sales in the month of release jumped by 923.4% compared to the previous month, and it also held the number one spot on Kyobo Bookstore's comprehensive chart for six consecutive weeks. The "screenseller" effect, where a film adaptation drives sales of the original novel, has been confirmed once again.

YouTube has also emerged as a powerful sales channel. Sales of Yui Suzuki's "Goethe Said Everything" soared after film critic Lee Dongjin recommended it. Immediately following the recommendation, Yes24 sales were about 14.9 times higher than the previous week, and the upward trend continued with additional recommendations toward the end of the year.

A graphic summarizing the 2025 first half book market shaken by media, stock market, and AI, showing cases such as the sales of "Project Hail Mary" soaring over 800% due to a movie release, the investment book boom driven by the sharp rise in the KOSPI index, the popularity of AI utilization books following technological changes, and the increasing trend of direct purchases by teenagers.

Whereas readers' choices in the past were swayed by newspaper reviews and publisher marketing, now video content and platform algorithms are playing a key role in helping books be rediscovered. Publishers are also increasingly focusing on creating opportunities for books to be brought back into the limelight, rather than solely promoting new releases.

Bookstores Shaken by the Stock Market and AI

In the fields of business, economics, and IT, changes in the market have directly fueled sales. In the first half of this year, the sales volume of domestic stock investment books increased by 277.8% year-on-year on Yes24. Rising KOSPI levels and the influx of individual investors have led to a surge in demand for investment-related books. For many new market entrants, these investment books have served as guides.

The KOSPI index started higher and surpassed the 8,700 mark for the first time in history on June 1, 2026. The status of the domestic stock market is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Junggu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

The market for AI-related books has also continued to grow. In the first half of this year alone, 1,589 AI-related books were published, and sales increased by 23.6% compared to the same period last year. After the initial boom in introductory books on ChatGPT, the market is now being led by practical books that cover specific applications such as Gemini, Claude, and Vibe Coding.

Interestingly, the spread of AI is also stimulating demand for humanities books. Works that explore human thought and the future, such as Yuval Harari's "Nexus" and Jang Kangmyung's "The Future That Came First," are also drawing attention. Demand is growing both for books on how to utilize AI and for those reflecting on humanity's role in the AI era.

The publishing industry now believes that the conditions for bestsellers have changed. Rather than a brief spike in sales immediately after publication, it has become more important for books to be rediscovered amid movies, platforms, social issues, and technological change. An industry insider commented, "The competitiveness of a book is now determined not only by its content but also by the ties that bring it back to readers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.