Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for “Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop” by Hwang Bo-Reum.
You! Yes you, the person reading this article. You look like you need a hug. I’m imagining that movie clip from Migration, and I promise you will feel better after reading this. Apparently it’s midterm month over on the other side of the pond, so best of luck to all you poor unfortunate souls :)
Anyways, this week’s book is about as different as you can get from last week’s book, which was all about violence and rage and resistance. “Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop” (2023) envelopes you in a story about everyday life, with stories flowing seamlessly from character to character.
One character is struggling through college burnout. One character is coming to terms with her unsuccessful marriage. One kid is navigating societal pressures to find a passion (I’m realizing this is starting to sound like the lyrics for “Castle on the Hill” (2017)). The bookshop owner herself is trudging through past hurt while pursuing her present dreams. Every character embodies relatable, everyday struggles that we all go through.
And yet, nothing in this book felt dark or mentally taxing to read. Rather, all the characters’ stories intertwine in the warm, coffee-infused local independent Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, where older aunties offer words of encouragement to stressed students, elderly patrons share mental health struggles with their neighbors and the community wordlessly gathers in a safe haven of words.
My favorite part of this book is how it incorporates inner monologues and self-reflections into the storyline. This, in my opinion, is why the storylines in the book are so relatable. Don’t we all experience life with a constant line of mental commentary, judgments and intrusive thoughts running through our heads? Sometimes we fall into rabbit holes and overthink every single interaction, other times we lay on the floor and try to forget an embarrassing interaction from two years ago (hey, floor time!). I love that instead of commentating on the rights or wrongs of a character’s choices, the author intentionally embraces the flaws, the indecision, the confusion, the uncertainty that we all face.
“Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop” is a hug for all of us. It encourages us all to make space for ourselves and, as the characters do by the end of the story, find a small community that will embrace our flaws and support our decisions all the same. Instead of taking everything so seriously by making absolute choices and charging towards the elusive societal concept of ‘success,’ the book gently pushes us to make decisions based on what we enjoy.
Stop overthinking it and just follow your heart. Like I said: hugs for all.
