The rising popularity of the period drama "Pachinko," based on the namesake English novel and released by Apple TV+ last month, has fanned the sales of the Korean translation of its original book here in South Korea.

The translation of "Pachinko," published in March 2018 by local publisher Literature & Thought, shot up 97 places to sixth on the weekly bestsellers list for the fourth week of March by Kyobo Book Center, the biggest bookstore chain in South Korea. The first episode of the Apple TV+ original series was released on March 25.

On the weekly chart for the first week of April, the novel moved up one notch to fifth place.

According to Yes24, a local online bookstore, "Pachinko" made the top 10 of its weekly bestselling chart in the fourth week of March and has been atop the list for two weeks in a row.

Based on the novel by Korean American Min Jin Lee with the same title, "Pachinko" depicts the life of a Korean woman, named Sunja, born to a poor family in Busan in the early 1900s. The 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule forces her to move to Japan, and she and her family have to go through a tough life there even after World War II.

Starring Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung and star actor Lee Min-ho, the eight-part series has won rave reviews from critics and viewers across the world.

Its first episode is currently available on YouTube for free, and it hit 15.7 million views as of Monday. (Yonhap)