Is My The Vegetarian a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English edition, Portobello Books, London, 2015 (translation of the Korean original)
• Issued in original boards with dust jacket; the verso carries the 'First published by Portobello Books 2015' statement
• The US edition (Hogarth) followed in 2016
• Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize
• Han Kang's 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature sharply raised demand

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The Korean original (Changbi, 2007) is the true first of the work. The Portobello 2015 hardback is the true first in English (Smith translation) and the prize-winning edition; the first English printing in jacket is the key collectible.P-010955

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Hogarth US 2016 edition is distinguished by imprint and date. Later Portobello printings state additional impressions. No known book-club edition.P-010956

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Vegetarian a first edition?

A first edition of The Vegetarian by Han Kang (trans. Deborah Smith) (Portobello Books) is identified by: First English edition, Portobello Books, London, 2015 (translation of the Korean original).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The Korean original (Changbi, 2007) is the true first of the work.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The Hogarth US 2016 edition is distinguished by imprint and date. Later Portobello printings state additional impressions. No known book-club edition.

I have a first edition of The Vegetarian — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.