Welcome to the Hyunam Dong Book Shop – Book Review

Yeongju is burned out. With her high-flying career, demanding marriage, and bustling life in Seoul, she knows she should feel successful—but all she feels is drained. Haunted by an abandoned dream, she takes a leap of faith and leaves her old life behind. Quitting her job and divorcing her husband, Yeongju moves to a quiet residential neighborhood outside the city and opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.

The transition isn’t easy. For months, all Yeongju can do is cry. But as the long hours in the shop stretch on, she begins to reflect on what makes a good bookseller and a meaningful store. She throws herself into reading voraciously, hosting author events, and crafting her own philosophy on bookselling. Gradually, Yeongju finds her footing in her new surroundings.

Surrounded by friends, writers, and the books that bind them, Yeongju begins to write a new chapter in her life. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop evolves into a warm, welcoming haven for lost souls—a place to rest, heal, and remember that it’s never too late to scrap the plot and start over.

In Korea this is known as “healing” fiction. The main character Yeongju has quit her high paying career and divorced her husband and opened a bookshop. Initially, Yeongju does nothing but cry over her failed career and marriage. But gradually, she starts to devote herself into the shop, by reading books, hosting author events and of course making new friends.

This book actually is very realistic and talks about “burnout” we suffer while working in corporate world. I can relate to Yeongju in someway–I used to work in the bank for five years and I was never feeling satisfied with my job and always feel burnout. Yeongju likes reading books and so she turned her passion into a shop. Then we meet other secondary characters as well–Mincheol, the barista, Jimi who comes to the shop for crocheting and knitting, Seongwoo, a former computer programmer now an athor. The book talks about following what you like most and follow your dreams.

Overall this is worth four stars.