Veteran South Korean novelist Hwang Sok-yong's new essay is off to a good start, its publisher said Monday.

Five-thousand copies of the first edition of the essay, roughly translated as "Hwang Sok-yong's Rice Thief" went out of stock, Gyoyu Books said.

Released on March 2, the book is already on its third edition and firmly remains on the bestseller lists at the country's major bookstores.

The novelist said he would donate all of the royalties from the first batch of book sales to relief organization Good Neighbors which, in turn, said it would donate one meal to a child for every book sold.

"The free meal was meant to apply only for the sale of the first edition, but we changed our stance to continue it," said an official from the publishing company. 

The essay is reminiscence of Korean modern history through countless encounters with people the author met through food. (Yonhap)