Haruki Murakami's 'Gaho' Ranks No. 2 Overall on YES24 One Day After Preorders Open

[Financial News] Haruki Murakami's new full-length novel 'Gaho' ranked No. 2 on YES24's overall bestseller list just one day after preorders opened. Buyers in their 40s and 50s accounted for 68.5% of first-day purchasers, driving initial sales.
According to YES24 on the 30th, 'Gaho' topped the real-time bestseller ranking as soon as preorders opened the previous day. It held the No. 1 spot in real-time rankings until 8 a.m. that day and ranked No. 2 on both the overall and daily bestseller lists.
By age group, buyers in their 40s accounted for the largest share of first-day preorder purchases at 42.1%, followed by those in their 50s at 26.4% and those in their 30s at 16.5%. By gender, women accounted for 50.8% and men 49.2%.
Combined, buyers in their 40s and 50s represented roughly seven out of every 10 first-day purchasers. The gender gap was just 1.6 percentage points. While the distribution was nearly even by gender, middle-aged readers stood out as the dominant age group.
At 8 a.m. that day, 'Gaho' and 'Haruki Murakami' ranked first and second, respectively, among YES24's popular search terms. Their rankings rose by 46 and 23 places, respectively, from the previous day.
Haruki Murakami's previous full-length novels have also topped YES24's overall bestseller list. '1Q84 1' reached No. 1 when preorders opened in 2009 and held the top spot for 20 weeks. 'Killing Commendatore 1' and 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' ranked No. 1 for five and three weeks, respectively.
Purchases also increased on the official publication date. Sales of 'Killing Commendatore 1' and 'Killing Commendatore 2' rose 89.5% from the previous day, while sales of 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' increased by 43%.
'Gaho' is Murakami's first full-length novel in three years, following 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls,' and will be officially published on October 21. It is the first of his full-length novels to feature a woman as the sole protagonist. The story follows a 26-year-old picture-book author who becomes embroiled in a bizarre incident and confronts a family crisis.
More than 600 people signed up for the advance publication notification event, and over 300 comments expressing anticipation were posted. Kim Gi-ok, head of YES24's book team, said, "Given that this is his first new work in three years, its upward sales trend is expected to continue for some time."

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