Jordan Peterson ’ s self - help book “ 12 Rules for Life : An Antidote to Chaos ” has become one of the biggest best - sellers this winter in South Korea , after translated videos of the clinical psychologist ’ s lectures and interviews criticizing political correctness and feminism have gone viral here . Local publisher Maven said Friday that Peterson ’ s book had sold over 105 , 000 copies since its release in late October , topping major online retailer Yes 24 ’ s sales chart last week . The warm reception led Peterson to record a video of himself showing gratitude from Maui , Hawaii , where he said he was taking a break from his tour .   ( Maven ) Describing himself as a “ great admirer of South Korean culture ” in the video , he hoped his book would “ encourage people to make the world a better and less malevolent place . ” Peterson has been a professor of psychology at University of Toronto for 20 years . His previous book , published in 1999 , was “ Maps of Meaning : The Architecture of Belief . ” Sung Ki - hoon , chief editor at Maven , suspects a growing number of men who feel at a disadvantage is behind Peterson ’ s popularity . The author rose to fame as an ardent critic of left - wing identity politics . “ In my opinion , the fundamental reason ( behind his popularity ) is the fact that more men feel they are facing reverse discrimination compared to women , ” Sung told The Korea Herald . He added that Peterson has emerged as a figure of masculinity who presents himself as “ intellectual ” and “ graceful . ” According to Maven ’ s sales figures , men in their late 20 s and early 30 s are the biggest buyers of the book , a stark contrast to the average readership demographic in Korea dominated by women .   ( Maven ) Sung said Peterson ’ s fandom in Korea first gathered mostly via YouTube , where numerous videos of his lectures and TV appearances have been translated , before the book reached a wider audience . One video , entitled “ Former Harvard professor debating with feminist anchor ” in Korean , is a translated version of his interview with Britain ’ s Channel 4 News . While the original video was viewed over 13 . 4 million times , the translated version has over 1 . 2 million views . The comment sections for the videos in either language are full of criticism of journalist Cathy Newman , who interviewed Peterson , as well as feminism as a whole , with many containing derogatory language . One top Korean comment reads , “ There is a reason why the smarter you are , the faster you escape from feminism . ” On Twitter , tweets in Korean praising Peterson can be easily found . One post shows screenshots of an interview with Iceland ’ s Channel 2 where Peterson played down the impact of feminist movements on gender equality . “ I think the people who are pushing the idea that it was feminist political machinations that produced the equalization of the situation between men and women are mostly die - hard ideological feminists who like to think that way , ” Peterson said in the interview . Sung knew Peterson was a controversial figure before he decided to publish the book in Korea , as he said some publishers opted out given the controversy surrounding Peterson ’ s political views . He explained it might be harder to separate Peterson ’ s political views from “ 12 Rules for Life , ” but he decided to go forward , as the book “ fills the void ” in a way no other book has here . By Yim Hyun - su ( hyunsu @ heraldcorp . com ) [ 코리아 헤럴드 ] [ K - POP HERALD ] [ 페이스북 ] <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >