Hwang Bo-reum (Author) Clay House 2022-01-17
364 pages 140*205mm 473g ISBN : 9791197377143
book introduction
“The feeling of being accepted
It must be so sad and good!”
The winner of the Brunch Book E-Book Publishing Project! Published a paper book by a flood of reader requests
“Through books and bookstores, the stories of people who struggle to make new relationships and stand up for themselves are unfolded in depth.” (Novelist Kim Geum-hee’s review)
A back alley in a neighborhood that seems to be everywhere in Seoul. An ordinary neighborhood bookstore opens among the homes where there are not many people coming and going. It's the Hunam-dong Bookstore! Young-joo, the owner of the bookstore, who doesn't show any enthusiasm like a person with a sad story, sits quietly and reads books as if he were a customer for the first few months. As I spend each day feeling like I am recovering the lost things one by one, the inner feeling that seemed to be exhausted and empty slowly disappears. Then at some point you realize the fact that he is quite healthy. From that moment on, the bookstore in Hunam-dong becomes a completely new space. A space where people gather, emotions, and stories of each other gather.
Barista Min-jun, roasting company CEO Jimmy, writer Seung-woo, regular customer sentiment, high school student Min-cheol and his mother Hee-ju, who are not happy to live, learn how to live together with people with big and small wounds and hopes, using the space called the Hunam-dong bookstore as a haven. . 『Welcome to Hunam-dong Bookstore』 is a book full of things we need to live even though we are living lost. Consideration and kindness, friendship and loose solidarity between people who know how to keep distance, honest and in-depth conversations, etc. The novel, which immediately became an e-book TOP 10 bestseller and received praise from many readers, was finally reborn as a paper book at the strong request of readers.
At the request of the first readers
A novel reborn as a paper book
Immediately upon publication, there is a novel that ranked in the top 10 e-book bestsellers and received 150 reader reviews. “I wish it came out as a paper book! A book that I want to own”, “I feel comforted while reading”, “I wish it was a space that exists in reality rather than a novel”, “Novel like a remedy for exhaustion from daily life”, etc. It is by far the most popular. Hwang Bo-reum's novel "Welcome to Hunam-dong Bookstore" was published in the library of Milly, an e-book subscription service platform.
In an era full of exciting material and video footage of interesting stories that repeat twists and turns, what is the reason why a novel that flows calmly draws people's hearts so much? That's because this novel touches on the things that are so important to our lives but are forgotten. In a world in which there is no time to breathe, this novel is itself a 'time to breathe'. It also conveys a deep understanding of how to deal with work, how to relate to people, and how to live in the end. As the reader commented, “It is clear that a novel written by a writer who understands life deeply,” 『Welcome to Hunam-dong Bookstore』 is a novel that unfolds a deep theory of life through the space of a local bookstore. Likewise, the moment you step into this bookstore, you will live a completely different life than before.
I want to stay in this warm space
I want to live life with these people
A new ordinary neighborhood bookstore in a back alleyway. The locals find it while walking down the street and they are happy to see it, but they soon stop because of the owner who looks sick and depressed. Young-joo, who opened the bookstore, awkwardly enters the bookstore as if he was actually a customer, and sits still and reads books. Unknowingly, she cried often and wiped away her tears as if nothing had happened to welcome the few guests. I sat like that for several months, and at some point the tears stopped flowing. And after a while, he realizes that he is quite healthy. Only then, the Hunam-dong bookstore begins to take on the shape of a real bookstore. She also fills bookshelves that were not even half full, and hires a barista to make coffee for her.
Books are increasing, reading groups are forming, and writing classes are starting, but it is the people who complete the healthy Hunam-dong bookstore. Min-jun, a barista who started working part-time after giving up on finding a job after endless failures to find a job, and Jimmy, the owner of a roasting company who is often angry with her husband, and Min-cheol, a high school student who says that living is no fun, and such a son, are worried but docile. Hee-joo, who cheers for him, quietly sitting in the corner of the bookstore, knitting and meditating, and writer Seung-woo, who is obsessed with studying Korean sentences because life becomes empty, makes the Hunam-dong bookstore a space that makes you want to stay forever. I invite you now to the friendship and loose solidarity between people who know how to keep distance, and the sincere and deep conversations they exchange.
The deep sentences of the writer who understood life
Make a novel more realistic than reality
The novel unfolds various thoughts on 'how to overcome wounds and move forward' through the eyes of ordinary people who are likely to be seen around us. In particular, since the issues dealt with by this novel deal specifically and precisely with what we are experiencing right here and now, the reader is easily absorbed in the world depicted by this work as if listening to their own story. In addition, it does not end with simple empathy, but also offers alternatives to how to live, so readers find hope, not despair, in this book. Not vague, well-founded hope!
For this reason, readers who have read 『Welcome to Hunam-dong Bookstore』 share the common opinion that it would be nice to have a bookstore like this. Perhaps you too. A book that presents calm comfort and comfortable laughter to us who are exhausted and exhausted from our busy lives. A book that gives me courage to face my hidden wounds and gives me an opportunity to let go of the past and live proudly. If you step into the very realistic and friendly story of this bookstore and spend time with the characters in this novel, you will eventually realize that living with good people is a truly successful life.
About the author
Hwang Bo-reum (Author)
After majoring in computer engineering at university, he worked as a software developer at LG Electronics. Although he has repeatedly joined and left the company several times, he has not lost his identity as a person who reads and writes every day. His books include 『I will read it every day』, 『Kickboxing for the first time in my life』, and 『This distance is just right』.
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