Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
The Korean writer Hwang Bo-Reum has previously written several essay collections. This is her first novel. The book’s protagonist Yeongju did everything she was supposed to do: Go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, she abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career and starts to follow her dream. She opens a bookshop.
In a quaint neighborhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers find refuge. She strives to recommend books that could help them to navigate their way in life. They all have disappointments in their past. In the bookshop they find a safe place where they all learn how to truly live. One must learn to think well of himself. Another has to leave her old life behind. A third one doesn’t have the capacity to get close to people. Many of the characters make significant life changes throughout the novel.
In our own book club discussion, we explored statements about the effects of reading that were made in the book by an author who regularly visited the bookshop:
- reading makes you see with clearer eyes and understand the world better.
- books are not meant to remain in your mind but in your heart.
- if more people start to read, they will be able to better empathize with the pain of others, and the world will become a better place.
This book is a balm for the soul and a glorious love letter to books and reading!
September 2026, Joke Baljeu
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