E-Book Industry Trends in Korea

The role of e-books in Korea has been a puzzle for the rest of the world due to its late acceptance and development in a country that has such a highly developed and wide ranging computer based technologies. The article provides a twenty-year history with a focus on the past 3 years of the emergence of the e-book and related smart phones as prime platforms and then the related development of content. The review also includes the entry of international players such as Amazon’s Kindle, Apple and Google with a summary of trends as the role of e-books continues to evolve.