Yeonnam-dong’s Smiley Laundromat – Book Review

Situated at the heart of a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, the Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold.

It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd.

But there is more to the diary than first appears, and before long the laundromat’s regulars are teaming up to solve a mystery and help the notebook’s former owner find peace.

This is the second (or third???) Korean Fiction I have read. I don’t know why Asian fiction books have really nice covers compared to English fiction ones and the book cover kind of made me attract to the book. But then besides the nice book cover, I actually enjoyed the story.

The Smiley Laundromat is situated in Yeonnam-dong neighborhood, a suburb of Seoul. There is a diary (we only find who the owner of the diary later) in the laundromat and people who come to this laundromat write their feelings in the diary. We have Old Jung and his dong Jindol and Mira and her family. Then we have Yeoreum who seemingly is an unsuccessful scriptwrite and Hajoon who dreams to become a star. Then we have a college student who faces a break-up and finds a kitten that will change her life. Then we have another man who is guilty about his brother’s suicide who got caught in a scam and the diary in fact belonged to his brother. The story is basically about how the community get together and help each other in need when the times are hard.

This was a heartwarming tale, easy to read and also there were emotional, tear-jerking moments in the book too. The book made me feel like I was actually watching a K-drama (if anyone has seen K-drama then you would understand). I actually enjoyed reading this book and hopefully read more books from this author.

Overall this book is worth four stars.