Review of "Welcome To The Hyunam-Dong Bookshop" by Hwang Bo-Reum

  

 Yeongju was married and had a good corporate position when 'burnout' led her to throw in the towel.



Yeongju quit her job, got divorced, and - since she's loved books since childhood - opened the Hyunam-dong Bookshop in a residential neighborhood of Seoul.



At first, Yeongju just left the bookshop's front door open and sat on a chair all day, with an ashen, tear-stained face.



Then a fashionable woman in the neighborhood, known as Mincheol's mother, ordered an iced Americano and gave Yeongju a heads up, saying 'people weren't going to shop in a bookstore with a lady nailed to a chair looking like she has a screw loose.'



Soon enough, Yeongju's tears dried up and she made the shop a welcoming place with a good selection of books.



Perky Instagram posts attracted readers from surrounding neighborhoods, and Yeongju hired a barista, Minjun, to oversee the popular coffee bar.



To boost visitors, Yeonqju organized events and activities, such as author readings, live bands, book talks, author interviews, book clubs, seminars, movie nights, etc.



Yeongju's book reviews and blog posts became popular as well, and readers would come to the shop to browse and ask for book recommendations.



It's now been more than a year since Yeongui transformed the Hyunam-dong Bookshop into a successful enterprise, and it's become the regular haunt for a handful of people who find advice, comfort and friendship there.

These include:

➤ Minjun - Minjun was a fine student with excellent grades who expected to get a good job after college. When interview after interview didn't pan out, Minjun 'took a break', then applied for the barista position at the bookshop. Minjun's mother feels he should set his sights higher.



➤ Jimi - Jimi is the manager of Goat Beans, where the bookshop buys coffee beans for its coffee bar. The barista Minjun loves to experiment with new flavors, and Jimi visits the bookstore as a friend as well as a coffee sampler and quality control expert. Jimi constantly rants about her husband, who's sloppy, does nothing useful, and stays out late.



➤ Mincheol - Mincheol is a teenager who worries his mother because he has no interests. Mincheol is indifferent to studying, playing games, and hanging out with friends. Mincheol's mother compels him to visit the bookshop regularly, so he'll be exposed to books and interesting people.



Mincheol's mother drops into the bookshop as well, and eventually becomes leader of a book club.



➤ Jungsuh - Jungsuh is a refugee from the corporate world, where she felt used and unappreciated. Jungsuh sits at a table in the bookstore for hours - drinking coffee, meditating, crocheting, and knitting.

 

➤ Seungwoo - Seungwoo is a corporate quality control expert whose interest in the use of language led him to critique novels, then to write a book about the subject. Seungwoo becomes attracted to Yeonqju, and agrees to give an eight-week seminar at the bookstore.



➤ Sungchul - Sungchul is a college friend of the barista Minjun. Sungchul is an enthusiastic movie fan who scolds Minjun for watching 'hit movies' rather than 'fine films.' After Sungchul hosts a movie night at the bookstore, he becomes a part-time employee.



Over the course of time, the bookstore denizens talk about their lives; their jobs; the value of work; their hopes and dreams; their spouses or ex-spouses; their children; and so on. We may also learn about their parents and how they arrived at their current situations. Best of all, we see how they learn to move on.



The titles of real books are scattered through the story, especially 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger. This is Yeongju's favorite book which she recommends to people, explaining it's a novel about the experiences and observations of a teenage boy.



This novel has been ascribed the the sub-genre of 'healing literature', and all the protagonists get a lift during the story. We see people coming to terms with parental disapproval; quitting exploitative bosses; shedding bad husbands; and coming to term with unfulfilled ambitions.

Recommended to fans of bookstore novels and readers who like uplifting books.

Rating: 4 stars