A Korean best-selling novel is delivering the ‘healing power of books’ to global readers.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, written by Boreum Hwang, is a novel of a heartwarming story that asks big questions about what it means to lead a successful and fulfilling life, through the character Yeongju who is drained and burned out in Seoul and moves to a small residential neighborhood to open a Hyunam-Dong Bookshop.
Hwang’s debut novel has sold more than 150,000 copies in Korea and has been translated and published in nine countries around the world.
The English edition, translated by Shanna Tan and published by Bloomsbury USA, has been garnering enthusiastic responses from readers on Amazon, Goodreads, and Powell’s Books.
On Amazon, 83% of reader reviews were rated 4 stars or higher within a week of going on sale on February 20.
On Goodreads, an Amazon subsidiary, the response is even more favorable with 1350 reviews and 6415 ratings. 76% of the ratings are 4 stars or higher.
Powell’s Books, the world’s largest independent bookstore with more than one million volumes in stock, selected Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop as Powell’s Picks of the Month for February 2024.
Powell Books commented the book is “a heartwarming story about finding acceptance in your life and the healing power of books,” and that it is a “gentle reminder that it’s never too late to scrap the plot and start again.”
BY EUNYOUNG LEE, HOONSIK WOO [lee.eunyoung6@koreadaily.com]
