Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation

but they’re growing and changing through their consistent efforts – taking several steps away from where they started off. How others judge where they stand – be it high or low, good or bad – doesn’t matter to them. The fact that they’ve progressed, and are happy where they are, is sufficient. The yardstick to measure one’s life lies within oneself

You might not notice right away, but everyone in the novel is taking small steps forward, whether it’s learning something new, or making a change to their lives. What they’re doing might be far from achieving what society deems as success,

A day well spent is a life well lived.

Because I was someone who continued to work despite losing myself. It’s a huge regret of mine – not having a healthy work life. I had thought of work as stairs. Stairs to climb to reach the top. Now, I see work as food. Food that you need every day. Food that makes a difference to my body, my heart, my mental health, and my soul. There is food you

‘A life surrounded by good people is a successful life. It might not be success as defined by society, but thanks to the people around you, each day is a successful day.’

There’s a line in Hermann Hesse’s Demian that goes: “But no dream lasts forever, each dream is followed by another, and one should not cling to any particular dream.”’ ‘Hearing this makes me hope that this kind of life can also be accepted,’ said Minjun, getting up slowly. Yeongju looked up. ‘What kind of life?’ ‘First, to cruise alongside what lif

From that day on, hand-drip coffee would be added to the regular menu. They decided to start with three brews from different regions. If possible, Minjun wanted to offer different flavours every month, but as Yeonju always said, it was important for things to find their place first. Minjun hoped that word would spread that Hyunam-dong Bookshop made

‘If you focus on cleaning when you’re spring-cleaning, your house will be sparkly clean. It’s the same with coffee. If you’re focusing on coffee while making it, your coffee will turn out even more delicious. I

‘To adopt a mature attitude towards life is to know how to live in the moment.’