Millie’s Study, Korea’s largest reading platform, announced on the 26th that it will operate a ‘Lost and Found’ pop-up store at the Uncommon Store on the 6th floor of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul until the 19th of this month.
‘Lost and Found is Back’ is the first paper book published through Millie’s Library publishing platform ‘Milliroad’ and tells the story of Hyewon, the 27-year-old protagonist, growing up between the past and present through a journey to find things she lost in the past. It’s a novel.
This pop-up store, the first to be run with Millie’s Library’s original IP, is decorated with locations that appear in ‘The Return of Lost and Found’, giving readers the excitement of traveling to a place they imagined while reading the book. The interior is structured so that the flow of time and place in the story continues, so you can enjoy a special experience as you move along the route.
When you enter the entrance, you are faced with a cute and lyrical space where book cover illustrations have been reconstructed in the form of a panoramic banner. Here, you can find paper books and sentence bookmarks that display messages in the book with speech bubbles of various shapes. Additionally, you can try writing a ‘sentence of comfort’ at the ‘Dongjam Stationery’ acrylic stand where the main character visits to find lost items, and at an experience zone reminiscent of a capsule drawing machine. The scratch lottery ticket given when purchasing a product also adds to the fun of connecting books and the real world.
What catches the eye more than anything is the limited edition goods that can only be found at the Millie’s Library pop-up store. Millie’s Study collaborated with the stationery brand ‘Motmot’ to turn the main character Hyewon’s lost items – diary, bag, and pencil case – into goods. In addition, a tassel-shaped key ring made of multiple layers of fabric with sentences from the book engraved on it and a sticker pack consisting of illustrations from the book are available.
This pop-up store is interpreted as pursuing portfolio diversification by moving beyond book-based content and introducing a more scalable business through a new business utilizing Millie’s Library’s own IP. This is because the e-book market is expected to gradually expand and become stronger as the subscription economy and changes in reading methods coincide.
According to the ‘2023 National Reading Survey’ announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 18th, the annual comprehensive reading rate of Korean adults over the past year was 43%, a 4.5% decrease compared to 2021. On the other hand, the reading rate by medium decreased compared to 2021 at 32.3% for paper books, but increased slightly to 19.4% for e-books, showing a tendency to prefer e-books over paper books. Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched the ‘4th Reading Culture’, which aims to diversify reading content by supporting the production of digital-based reading content such as e-books and audiobooks in line with the digitalization trend of the publishing industry and expanding secondary content using intellectual property (IP). The ‘Basic Promotion Plan (2024-2028)’ was announced.
Kim Tae-hyung, head of Millie’s Library’s publishing business division, said, “Millie’s original, which was first introduced through Millie Road, received an explosive response, so we planned this pop-up store to provide readers with a more diverse experience.” He added, “We planned this pop-up store to provide readers with a more diverse experience.” “We will expand our business in earnest to provide new enjoyment and strengthen brand loyalty at the same time,” he said.
Reporter Kim Geon-ho [email protected]
[ⓒ 세계일보 & Segye.com, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
