Korean Book Club - ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop’, Hwang Bo-reum

Discover Korean literature and explore its various themes in KCC's monthly Korean Book Club

For the book club of December, we are going to discuss the novel ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop’ by Hwang Bo-reum, the word-of-mouth bestseller which sold over 110,000 copies in Korea in just five months.

▪ Language: English

  (Korean Book Club gatherings are alternatively held in French, Dutch and English.)  

▪ Date: Thursday, December 14, 7 PM – 9 PM 

▪ Venue: Korean Cultural Center Brussels  

▪ Entrance Free - Application is necessary* 

To apply, please send an application e-mail to info@kccbrussels.be with your First name, Last Name, and telephone number.

Participants can easily purchase a copy of ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop’ at Waterstones Brussels (Boulevard Adolphe Max 71-75, 1000 Brussels).

For more info: https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/brussels

About the book - ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop’

Translated from Korean by Shanna Tan

Published by Bloomsbury

There was only one thing on her mind.

'I must start a bookshop.'

Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.

In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju - they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.

A heart-warming story about finding comfort and acceptance in your life – and the healing power of books.

About the author – Hwang Bo-reum

Hwang Bo-reum studied Computer Science and worked as a software engineer. She wrote several essay collections: I Read Every Day, I Tried Kickboxing for the First Time and This Distance is Perfect. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is her first novel, which has sold over 150,000 copies in Korea and been sold into 9 territories. Before its release as a paperback, the novel was initially published as an e-book after winning an open contest co-organised by Korean content-publishing platform ‘Brunch’.

About the translator – Shanna Tan

Shanna Tan is a Singaporean translator working from Korean, Chinese and Japanese into English. She was selected for two emerging literary translator mentorships in 2022, where she was mentored by Anton Hur and Julia Sanches. Her prose translations have appeared in The Southern Review, The Common, Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture and more.

When registering for a book club meeting, please respectfully consider the following:

• -Due to organizational and practical limitations of our events, the number of participants for each event is strictly limited.

• -Your registration will be confirmed by e-mail. In case the number of registrations exceeds the number of available seats, a waiting list will be created.

• -Online registration for this event is mandatory and is done on a first come, first serve basis. Please understand that it is very unfair to refuse registrations on the one hand and observe that registered persons simply do not show up at events at the other hand.

• -After having registered, please notify us formally (through e-mail) and in due time (at least before the start of the meeting) in case that you want to cancel your registration. Those who fail to do so, will be restricted from attending other KCC events.