E-books increasing consumer base in Korea

Models show the iriver tab supplied by LG Uplus, the country’s smallest mobile carrier. As tablet computers are expanding the market, so is the e-book market.

By fvisajobs

The bankruptcy of Borders, one of the biggest bookstore chains in the United States, is seen as symbolic. Borders, which once rose as a success story in the industry with 642 stores, faltered with $1.2 billion debt.

The Association of American Publishers announced that sales of e-books in the United States recorded $90.3 million in February, surpassing those of paper books for the first time. The sales of e-books more than tripled from a year ago. Though not as successful as in the United States, e-books are increasing their consumer base here as well. The sales of e-books, which marked 132.3 billion won in 2009, jumped to 197.5 billion won last year, and are expected to near 300 billion won this year. Kyobo Books, the biggest bookstore in the country, saw e-book sales grow 6.4 times in the first quarter from a year ago.

The development of digital technology and diverse devices are changing the way people read books. E-book readers like Kindle opened up the market. “Amazon made a turning point in the market by launching Kindle,” said Lee Seung-woo, a researcher at KT Research Institute, in a report. He points out that people, especially the younger generation, were reading less books, but Amazon attracted them by offering “digital deep reading.”

Now, tablets like the iPad and Galaxy Tab are increasing their stake. Apple, which launched the iPad 2 at a competitive price of $499, has expanded the consumer base of tablets, and it made the iBooks Store a stable income source. “Kindle, targeting heavy readers, and iPad, for lighter readers, are growing together with different positioning in the market,” Lee said. Google is also eyeing the market, with local MP3 player manufacturer iriver supplying Story HD, a Google e-book reader.

In the local market, mobile carriers as well as handset manufacturers have jumped into the arena. KT is providing diverse content through Olleh e-book. SK Telecom also has an e-book category at T Store, its app store.

The local market, however, is still in the initial stages of development compared with other countries, mostly due to lack of content. Publishers are focusing on offering educational content for children first, planning to expand to the main market later.

The book industry is seeing the transition both positively and negatively. It is offering chances of expansion, though not in the paper form. “The expansion of the smart devices is helping e-books become highly valued. E-books have become essential content for smart devices,” said Seong Dae-hun, head of the digital content business at Kyobo Books, in a report.

However, he points out that some books are disappearing from bookstores or are being replaced. Encyclopedias, for example, are disappearing, and so are comic books, romance, fantasy and science fiction titles. They have something in common. They take a lot of space, are inconvenient to carry, and need continuous updating or information searching. They don’t have to be owned. E-books, hence, are the right option for these genres of books.

He said that the use of screen media improved spatial cognition, but weakened cognition capabilities at a higher level, related with things like abstract vocabulary, reflection, problem solving, critical thinking and imagination. “In other words, human thinking has become shallow,” he said.

Seong expects the books will be consumed, rather than owned. “Many services are becoming cloud-based, where one doesn’t have to own diverse software programs or paper books…the development of technology has made the publishing industry’s face change,” he said.