Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum (Bloomsbury, 2024)
Fiction
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum (ISBN: 9781526662286, paperback). When Yeongju’s perfectly planned out life falls apart, she follows her dream and opens a bookshop (apparently, that’s what some people do, though the ‘falling apart’ bit is optional). In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, Yeongju’s bookshop becomes a refuge for her and her customers. There is a Korean saying that ‘life’s off to a good start after you do up the first button’ but what happens after that? These are stories of people facing up to past disappointments and stepping into new openings: it is gentle and warming.