In The Korea Herald Lee Sun-young looks at 'How homegrown novels have become a rare find on best-seller lists', in The story of Korean fiction: Proud tradition, humble present, reporting that:
Apparently:
Of course, authors get blamed too, as some argue that audiences are looking for something different:
If you're reading a novel from Korea's best-seller lists now, chances are that it's not written by a local author.[Presumably this only refers to South Korean bestseller lists; its seems like a safe assumption that North Korea's bestseller lists would be dominated by local talent.]
Apparently:
"Korean readers, who once found it difficult to relate to translated works, appear to be enjoying them more, thanks to their increased understanding of foreign cultures, as seen in the popularity of U.S. TV dramas here, as well as the burgeoning rank of qualified translators," explained Lee Kyeong-jae, professor of Korean Literature at Soongsil University in Seoul.However, rather than expanding the market it seems the foreign stuff is supplanting the local works, as, for example: "At Kyobo [the country's largest bookseller], sales of Korean novels -- whether literary or commercial -- have dropped 28 percent so far this year from the same period in 2014".
Of course, authors get blamed too, as some argue that audiences are looking for something different:
They have different desires. Literature now is failing to respond to them.