The crowded "Slam Dunk" booth in Seoul on March 14 (Yonhap News) (Copyright 2023YONHAPNEWS. All rights reserved.)

Slam Dunk" popularity in South Korea continues to cool down, "opening dash" at an event.

The "2023 Seoul International Book Fair," Korea's largest book fair with a variety of events related to books and publishing, opened at COEX, a general exhibition hall in Seoul, on March 14, and visitors were seen running toward the "SLAM DUNK" stand as soon as the doors opened.

 　On the first day of the fair, a long line of people waited to pay at the "SLAM DUNK" booth, and there was also a line at the place where visitors could take pictures with life-size posters of the manga characters. 　A visitor in his 20s said, "I was able to take time off work to come. I wanted to buy a copy of the "Slam Dunk" manga, but I heard that I could buy it here at a discount and get some goods," said a visitor in his 20s. 　An official from Korean publisher Daewon C.I., which publishes a translated edition of the original manga, explained, "People started lining up as soon as we opened at 10:00 a.m. We thought this was the 'opening dash' we had heard about, so we quickly increased the number of staff. 　

The booth sold "Slam Dunk" original editions, newly reorganized editions, and premium boxed editions, some of which could be purchased at a 10% discount from the regular price. Goods were given away according to the items purchased and the amount of money spent, and fans gathered for this. According to a representative of Daewon C.I., sales exceeded 6 million won (approximately 660,000 yen) within one hour of the store opening. 　THE FIRST SLAM DUNK," an animated film based on the manga "SLAM DUNK," which gained great popularity in Korea in the 1990s, was released in January of this year and had attracted 4.68 million viewers as of the 13th of this month. The Korean-language version of the manga has sold 1.4 million copies of the "Newly Reorganized Edition," and the total number of copies sold, including the original edition and premium boxed editions, has reached 2.5 million.

Source: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/6a15eb6c38b5f981532548105f42dbf9ee18e68e