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

A day well spent is a life well lived.
Hwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
‘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
Hwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
Put your effort in the now
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,
Hwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
‘To adopt a mature attitude towards life is to know how to live in the moment.’
Hwang Bo-reum • 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
... See moreHwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
He stopped looking too far ahead into the future. To him, the distance between the present and the future was a few pours on the dripper; the future within his control. As the stream of water circled the grounds, he thought about how the coffee would turn out. That was as far as he allowed himself to look into the future. There were, of course, tim
... See moreHwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
you can't predict the future
‘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.’
Hwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
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
... See moreHwang Bo-reum • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
‘Are you telling me not to think and just do whatever?’ Frustrated, the words tumbled out of Mincheol without a care. ‘That’s not a bad thing,’ Seungwoo replied. ‘Just try something out, and who knows, you might find joy in it. It might be something you stumble upon but end up wanting to do for life. Who knows? Nobody knows what’ll happen unless yo
... See more