Charlotte’s Web celebrates the 100th issue in Korea

The 100th issue of “Charlotte’s Web,” a children’s novel about friendship between a spider and a pig, has been published in Korea by Sigong Junior, a major Korean publishing house. It is rare that a single children’s novel, not a series, publishes the 100th issue. The total number of the book published in Korea amounts to around 450,000. Globally, it has been sold as many as 45 million volumes.

The book written by American author E. B. White in 1952 was first published by Sigonsa in Korea in 1996. Though being ignored for being small in a small farm, Wilbur the baby pig and a wise and experienced spider named Charlotte become friends and help each other taking themselves as they are. It is not an adventurous story, but it has been loved for a special friendship. In 2006, the namesake movie starring Dakota Fanning was released.

To celebrate the 100th issue, Sigong Junior published 5,000 hardcover editions in color. The publisher provides free gifts to its customers through Sigong Junior Book Club and online bookstores. Readers who own a “Charlotte’s Web” volume post a picture of the issue can get a freebie by lot and those who post a picture of the book’s cover can get one on a first-come, first-served basis.

Books that published the 100th issue include Kwon Jeong-saeng’s “Mongsil Eonni (My Sister, Mongsil)” and “Puppy’s Poop,” Won Yoo-soon’s “Samdigi the Illterate,” Hwang Seon-mi’s “A Hen into the Wild,” and Franziska Biermann’s “The Fox Who Ate Books.”

손효림기자 aryssong@donga.com