I really liked this one. Cute, emotional and a recommended read in all the ways you can think of.

An ode to books and bookshops but also a novel that shows how hard it is to run one.

It left me with a good feeling

Hyunam dong Bookshop

After leaving her unfulfilling desk job, and getting divorced, Yeoung has opened Hyunam dong bookshop. Though it’s slow to get off the ground, over time it becomes a haven for a wide cast of characters who find comfort, stimulation and community. We learn their stories, hear about the books they are reading and, gradually, understand the events that led Yeoung to start her business.

This is a cosy and heartwarming book. The characters are all good people who are trying their best to make the right choices and do what is right, and their efforts are largely rewarded. I was not surprised to learn that the author is an essayist, as there are also some quite lengthy discussions on, amongst other subjects, the meaning of work in our lives, the value of books and finding happiness. This won’t appeal to everyone, and it is a quite unusual book, because there is no peril or jeopardy and minimal conflict but also and side-helpings of musing about coffee or films. As I’ve previously said, I do enjoy a darker story!

A big draw of this book for many people will be that it is from Korea, and it has been a big hit there. The Korean-ness permeates the novel, with some Korean words left untranslated, such as ajumma, eonnie and gim. Although the meaning of these words is sometimes clear because of the context, it’s not always the case. Of course, these words would not stand out to the original Korean audience so a reader of this translation in English actually gets an added layer of cultural colour. In translating, there can be a conflict between making the cultural background visible and faithfully recreating the experience of the book in its original language for the reader. In this book, the translator has leant towards celebrating and foregrounding its Korean context. Some of the sentences are a touch clunky, as if written by a non-native speaker, which heightens this feeling of something that is from elsewhere. If the Korean setting is part of the appeal of this book for you, the you won’t be disappointed (though they might want to google a few things)!

One to recommend to any reader (YA as well as adult) who wants a book with a positive outlook which reinforces the transformative power of books, reading, community and….. coffee. Read it for respite and let yourself be transported to the Hyunam dong bookshop.

A heart warming, easy-reading, fictional story of the creation and evolution of a book store in Seoul, South Korea. This becomes the centre connecting a blossoming little community of characters whose lives are changed for the better as a result. Wonderfully written and beautifully translated. if only this book came prepackaged with the kind of book store it describes! Special thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for a no obligation advance review copy.

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: A Novel by Hwang Bo-reum, Shanna Tan (Translator)

ARC Rating 4.5/5 ⭐️

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is a slice-of-life story based around a Bookshop and its owner, Yeong-ju 📚

The story follows burnt out Yeong-ju, who 'had it all', the University education, the respectable job and suitable husband. But she abandoned it all to follow her dream of owning a Bookshop.

Through the story, you meet different people who are going through their own personal challenges. But they are all connected through the books and Bookshop.

I really enjoyed this deep and personal but still heartwarming story. It was very soft, slow, and unwinding. No big drama happened, just looking-glass moments into different characters' lives. With this slice of life theme, the story really got the chance to look at real-life worries and feelings.

Thank you, NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, Hwang Bo-reum & Shanna Tan, for sending this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

“Good things in books shouldn’t just stay in ink and on paper. I want things happening around me to be good stories that can be shared with others.

책에서 읽은 좋은 이야기들이 책 속에만 머물러 있지 않게 하고 싶어요. 내 삶 주변에서 일어나는 이야기들도 남에게 들려줄 만한 좋은 이야기가 될 수 있으면 좋겠어요.”

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop is Shanna Tan’s 2023 translation of 어서 오세요, 휴남동 서점입니다 by 황보름 (Hwang Bo-reum), originally published in 2022.

This is a gentle love letter to the art of reading and to bookshops, the story of a woman, Yeongju, who quits her work and her marriage to find what really make her happy. I almost wrote “pursue her true passion” there but that would be to misread the novel as part of its ethos is expressed early on:

“In the past, she used to live by mantras like passion and willpower, as if by imprinting the words on her mind, they would somehow breathe meaning into her life. It only felt like she was driving herself into a corner. From then on, she resolved never to let those words dictate her life again. Instead, she learnt to listen to her body, her feelings, and be in happy places. She would ask herself these questions: does this place make me feel positive? Can I be truly whole and uncompromisingly myself? Do I love and treasure myself here? For Yeongju, the bookshop checked all the boxes.”

While Yeongju’s love is novels, one of her early learnings as a bookseller is that some customers are looking for non-fiction not her subjective recommendation of a novel on the same topic, and one of the (real-life) books she introduces to the book shop’s book club is David Frayne, The Refusal of Work: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Work.

In keeping with this feel positive ethos, this isn’t a novel that permits much conflict. Although the novel is clear that running a bookshop is not terribly profitable, there don’t seem to be any actually financially tough decisions to make. And any romantic tension between the characters never goes past the “I think I like you” stage. The book’s biggest drama is a customer who comes in each day to read a few chapters of the same book without buying it, and even that is resolved smoothly and successfully.

Instead this is about the empathy that reading and novels in particular create and I loved this quote about finding time to read, from an interview with an author:

“AR: We become more compassionate. To read is to see things from someone else's perspective, and that naturally leads you to stop and look out for other people, rather than chase after success in the rat race. If more people read, I think the world will become a better place.

YJ: It's common to hear people say that they have no time to read but I believe you read a lot?

AR: Not really, about one book every two or three days.

YR: I call that reading a lot. (laughs)

AR: Really? (laughs). Being so busy, we're usually left with only small pockets of time to read - perhaps in the morning, during lunch, in the evening after work and before we go to bed. But these pockets of time can add up to become something substantial.”

The novel is very well done for what it is - but really was not my cup of tea (indeed as a tea lover, the novel, and indeed the bookshop itself, was oddly obsessed with coffee) and rather too nice and unchallenging. So 4 stars for what it sets out to do, although 2 for my taste.

This book is perfect for every type of reader, (maybe not the thrilling kind of readers though) However, reading this is like coming home after a long day and taking off your bra and snuggling up on the sofa. This book is pure comfort. Its a breath of fresh air to read about people who are real and who make mistakes and don't have the perfect life thats often portrayed in a book.

Its for booklovers, who wish to live in books. It's home.

HOW I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Although I don’t enjoy books that are preachy (and this book certainly has its advice column moments), I loved how it wasn’t just about people restarting their lives/reigniting passion or purpose. The bookshop grounds all characters where modern life fails them, whether it is studying, working or relationships. It feels natural how working without burning out, refining your craft and taking time to actually listen to people can do wonders for you.

(Maybe it is because I’ve recently started working as a bookseller, I may have romanticised the life of a bookseller a bit too much :) I hope it gets wide recognition and many interviews with the author! Crossing my fingers for a mini TV series too)

This is such a warm and cosy read! Was completely here for it. The writing was solid and the appreciation for books was magical. Really enjoyed!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop' by Hwang Bo-reum but translated by Shanna Tan into English.

'Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop' is such a beautiful story which is quite quick and easy to read. It's always tricky to review translated works because the writing style of the author is translated into that of English but I'd like to say Shanna Tan did well in translating because the translation of the story felt like it flowed well. I loved it.

This book is nothing short of a love letter to books, bookshops and all who love them
I empathise so much with ow protagonist, that I honestly Fred like she could have been based on me. I think all office-based, book loving nerds have dreamt of the bookstore they would run one day

This novel sympathetically portrays real, human characters with all their recognisably familiar flaws and worries. And a knowing, self aware nod that it is full of people just like you, dear reader.

This is not a novel full of twists and turns, reading this gives my soul the same gentle comforting feeling that a ware tea gives on a crisp autumn morning. We're immersing ourselves in the Hyunam-dong book shop not for an adrenaline rush, but to connect with a collection of characters and examine the mirror they hold up to ourselves.

Each of the characters comes to us a fully fledged, authentically flawed personality, struggling to reconnect with the world after burn-outs, breakdowns, divorces, and shocked awakenings from the monotony of the corporate world


It's not often I final a book I can wholesale recommend to all my reader friends,

This is one of them.

This was such a beautiful book, I adored the story and characters, The writing style was gorgeous. 100% recommend.

Love love love this book! It's a cosy, heart warming, wholesome book set in a part of the world I love to read about.

Will be recommending this to everyone. It makes me smile when I think about it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the arc.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
This is a cosy, feel-good story about a woman who quits corporate life in Seoul to open a book shop and regain some semblance of a good work-life balance. The book is definitely character-driven - there is very little ‘action’ in the 300+ pages of the novel, but it still manages to deal with issues such as corporate burn-out, friendship, and,of course, the importance of books and reading! :-) Perfect if you like stories such as ‘Strange Weather in Tokyo’ and ‘Convenience Store Woman’.

A heartwarming cosy read that makes you think about how important it is to be happy and that we can all find a place to call ‘home’.

3.5!

This is a translation of the book by Hwang Bo-reum and it was translated by Shanna Tan.

If you’re a book lover then you will LOVE this. (Think along the lines of The Reading List)

Nestled in a neighbourhood in Seoul sits a bookshop where all of its customers come to take refuge between its shelves and pages. It’s through this bookshop that many of the characters within this novel come alive!

This is such a heartwarming story oh my gosh. I think everyone will find a piece of themselves within these charterers.

At its core, this book is about work-centric lifestyles and things that have gone wrong in your life and wanting to find solitude. It also explores working so hard to fulfil your dreams as well as achieving them but not feeling as fulfilled as expected.

We’ve had a couple of rainy days lately in London and this has been the perfect material to match the weather!

A big thank you Net Galley & Bloomsbury for a digital ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love the translations coming from Asia at the moment. The is a lovely heart warming story. Relatable characters and a lovely lovely story. I very much enjoyed this book.

Thanks NetGalley and Bloomsbury publishing for the arc of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum.

Loved it. Every book lover will adore this story!

A really lovely book that celebrates what is book lovers love. BOOKS. it is about acceptance and being true to yourself. Finding out who you really are and loving who you are.