Film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ Drives Renewed Sales of 1928 Novel on King Danjong

The Tragic Story of Danjong (photo provided by Saeum)

The popularity of the film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ is spilling beyond theaters into publishing and other off-screen consumption. The 1928 novel has been reissued and entered bestseller rankings, while sales of children’s history books tied to King Danjong have surged, showing how the box-office hit is driving demand for related historical content.

According to Kyobo Book Centre’s bestseller list for the first week of March released Friday, Saeum’s reissued edition of , published last month, ranked No. 17 in the Korean fiction category.

is a work by Yi Gwang-su (1892-1950) with Danjong as its central figure. It was serialized in the Dong-A Ilbo in 1928-1929. The novel depicts political confrontation between forces backing Danjong, portrayed as embodying dynastic legitimacy, and a faction seeking to enthrone Prince Suyang, including Han Myeong-hoe and Jeong In-ji, framed through the opposing figures of Danjong and Suyang.

First-edition facsimile set of The Tragic Story of Danjong (photo provided by YES24)

With copyright expiring 70 years after the author’s death, multiple publishers, including Saeum, have been freely releasing editions following the film’s success. Publishers have also rolled out varied formats to attract readers, including an “original edition” that restores the cover design of the first edition published by Bakmun Publishing in 1954.

Library borrowing has also climbed. Statistics from the National Library of Korea’s “Library Information Naru” big-data platform show the book was borrowed about 10 to 20 times a month last year, but recorded a total of 148 loans last month.

The film’s success has broadened interest beyond a single historical figure to the era Danjong lived in and its historical backdrop, the report said, lifting attention to history more broadly.

Poster for ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ (photo provided by Showbox)

YES24 said that in the month after the film opened Feb. 4, sales of books tagged with the keyword “Danjong” jumped 2,565% from the same period a year earlier. Sales of rose about 800%, while , which examines Danjong’s tragic fate alongside royal politics after the Sejong era, climbed about 2,700%. The children’s history book surged 4,614% from a year earlier.

“Cultural content such as films and dramas is sparking interest in specific historical figures or events,” said Jo Seon-young, head of YES24’s book business division. “A steady reading trend is emerging in which people then seek out and read related books.”

Tourists visit Jangneung, Danjong’s tomb, in Yeongwol — Tourists continue to visit Jangneung, Danjong’s tomb in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, a key historical setting for the film. (Yonhap)

With the film drawing more than 12 million cumulative viewers and becoming a nationwide hit, related spending is expected to spread in more ways, the report said. Yeongwol, where Danjong was exiled, has seen a sharp rise in tourism demand, with what the report described as a “Danjong fandom” phenomenon. At Cheongnyeongpo Ferry, a major filming backdrop, about 11,000 people visited during last month’s Lunar New Year holiday period, and about 14,800 visited during the March 1 holiday period, emerging as a popular destination.

The film’s impact has also played out online. On map apps, the review section for Yeongwol’s Jangneung has drawn more than 600 comments mourning and commemorating Danjong. Meanwhile, malicious comments appeared on listings for Han Myeong-hoe’s grave in Cheonan and for Gwangneung, the royal tomb of King Sejo, prompting Kakao Map to close the review sections for those sites, the report said.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Yoon Juhye