The Rapid Rise of Luminary Books: Investigating a Tech-Driven Publishing Phenomenon
Online discussions within the Korean reading community, beginning this summer, have focused on the rapid growth and controversial methods of Luminary Books, a publishing company founded in 2022 that identifies as “technology-based.” Concerns center around the sheer volume of books published and the potential impact on the conventional publishing ecosystem.
Since August of last year,luminary Books has released over 9,000 titles – a figure dramatically higher than the approximately 200 books published annually by major Korean publishers. Despite facing criticism labeled as “AI-clicking books,” the company continued to release a notable number of publications, with one physical book and 130 e-books appearing last month alone. These largely consisted of introductory guides for stock investors and young adult readers. notably, one author associated with Luminary Books published over 100 books within a three-month period.
To understand the reality behind this unprecedented output, the ‘Efact: This is the fact’ reporting team met with Lee Min-hyuk, the 34-year-old CTO of Luminary Books, on the campus of a university in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Lee is also a professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Chung-Ang University, currently operating under approval for concurrent employment as a teacher startup.
Professor Lee detailed the entire book production process, explaining how the company manages to publish such a high volume of content. He also revealed the identity of the “super author” responsible for the prolific output of over 100 books across diverse subjects.
The examination explored the rationale behind continuing AI publishing despite the criticism regarding disruption to the publishing industry, and addressed the ethical considerations surrounding the practice. The report also examines the business models of leading overseas AI publishing startups impacting the global market, and the controversies they face.
The meeting with Professor Lee provided insight into his transition from AI software research to the AI publishing industry, a move he attributed to reflections on his experiences as an educator.He shared the motivations that led him and his students to leave the lab and pursue this new venture.
