This study deals with the state of the publication of economic books and the future prospect on it. It deals with the period from the 1960s to 1990s. During the first half of the 1960s the number of economic books was less than 50 and during the second half it increased to 100. The highest proportion of the economic books were on general economics and business management. During the 1970s as the amount of the whole books increased rapidly, the economic books increased as well to a total of 300. The highest proportion of the economic books were on business management. This phenomenon resulted not only from the increase in the books published by ordinary companies, but also from the fact that economy-related institutes published many books on business management. In the 1980s the Korean publishing situation developed in quantity to enter into the top 10 publishing countries in the world. In this environment the publication of economic books became very active ranging from 800 to 1000 in total. The highest proportion was still in business management, but many books on transportation, sightseeing, marketing, trade and advertisement were also published. In the 1990s the publishing of economic books had steadily grown except for the years of 1995 and 1996. This showed that the economic books publication did not shrink but developed steadily even during the IMF crisis which began at the end of 1997. It contrasts with the publication of the books in general, which stopped increasing from the middle of 1990s. This phenomenon suggests that the enforcement of the publication of books on specialized fields can activate that of books in general. The characteristics of best sellers in the field of economic books in the 1990s are summarized as follows: First, as publication of books on specialized fields were activated, those written simply as introductory books became best sellers in the economic field. Second, books on how to become a success, self-management, and new management theories and strategies became best sellers. Third, books on investment and making money became best sellers. Fourth, because of the IMF crisis, books related to overcoming the economic crisis became an important part of the economic books publication. Fifth, books written by the business owners and specialized managers entered the comprehensive lists of best sellers. From this study the prospect of the publishing economic books can be forecast as follows: First, the publication of economic books developed steadily in terms of quantity and diversity since the liberation of Korea and this phenomenon will go on. Second, a growing number of books emphasizing the making of money began to be published and this trend will become more obvious. Third, the main readers of economic books are changing from specialists to ordinary people, and this trend will continue in the future. Also the publishing companies will plan to publish the books which are more interesting and easier to understand. In this trend the distinction between the books for specialists and the books for laymen will become vague.
(0)
(0)