Ive member Jang Wonyoung appeared on a show and recommended the book "The Words of the Translated Buddha," which has sparked a sales boom and made it to the bestseller list.
According to the bestseller list for the third week of January announced by Kyobo Bookstore on the 24th, "The Words of the Translated Buddha," written by Japanese monk Koike Ryunosuke, ranked 4th.
"The Words of the Translated Buddha" is a book that reinterprets the teachings of Buddha in modern language. It was published in South Korea in May of last year. At that time, it ranked 154th among Kyobo Bookstore's weekly bestsellers for domestic books and 19th for humanities.
However, after Jang Wonyoung noted on the 15th during tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block' and on the YouTube channel 'Chilchilchil' on the 17th that she "enjoys reading" it, the sales began to surge.
"The Words of the Translated Buddha" also made the bestseller list on YES24. On the broadcast date of 'You Quiz,' the sales increased 20 times (1983.3%) compared to the previous day on the 15th, and doubled (115.2%) on the 16th. The comprehensive bestseller ranking is also climbing.
"The Words of the Translated Buddha" saw a 76-fold increase in sales compared to the previous week after the broadcast. Looking at the gender purchasing share, women accounted for 65.7%, significantly surpassing men (34.3%), and by age group, those in their 30s represented the highest ratio at 37.7%.
Meanwhile, the novels of author Han Kang held the top three spots. They ranked as follows: "The Boy is Coming," "The Vegetarian," and "I Don't Say Goodbye."
Jang Wonyoung appeared on 'You Quiz' alongside Ive leader Ahn Yujin, and when asked whether she reads a lot of books, she replied, "I can't say it's a lot, but I enjoy reading." She also mentioned that she was impressed by "The Words of the Translated Buddha," stating, "Seeing the words, 'Do not get attached. If you do not get attached to the affairs of the world, there will be no problems, but the moment you get attached, that thought brings suffering and makes things difficult,' gave me great strength."
She added, "There are times I get angry, but when I come home and read that book again, it calms me down and gives me the strength to start again the next day."