Meeting Hwang Bo-Reum, the Author Behind the Bookshop That Feels Like Home
“Every reader can not be a writer. But every writer starts being a reader.” – Hwang Bo-Reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop.
It’s been almost a week since we got the chance to meet and get to know the best-selling author of the book “Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop,” Hwang Bo-Reum.
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop tells the story of Yeongju, who walks away from corporate life to open a cozy bookshop in a quiet Seoul neighborhood. As her little store becomes a haven for quirky customers, it blossoms into a warm community space. This heartwarming tale explores burnout, healing, and the joy of rediscovering purpose through books and connection.
Let’s get to know the brilliant author of Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop and discover the inspiration behind this captivating novel.
On Becoming a Writer
Hwang Bo-Reum shared how she didn’t have any specific motivation for becoming a writer like Haruki Murakami. But for her, she just decided to become one and started writing every day.
On Publishing Her Novel on Brunch Platform
“I was able to finish the novel, and I was able to write the novel, but thinking that nobody is reading this novel, medyo malungkot na.” – Hwang Bo-Reum
Like every author, Hwang Bo-Reum confessed how it would make her feel if nobody read her book. It was also the exact reason why she chose to publish her novel on the Brunch Platform first, before having it in paperback. She also added that having her book published was beyond her imagination.
On Ways of Changing Her Daily Life
When asked about how her daily life changed once she decided to be a writer, author Hwang Bo-Reum playfully replied with, “Not going to work anymore.”
Although it may seem that she has a lot of free time, she clearly stated that she makes plans to avoid wasting her day by doing nothing.
She also shared a realization she had about becoming a writer, how every part of life holds a story. Every mistake, every challenge, every person you meet can all become fuel for her creativity.
On Inspiration and Choosing a Subject to Write About
As a writer, Hwang Bo-Reum wasn’t really looking for inspiration because she could get it just by living her daily life. She finds that discussing her book, watching series, and even talk shows are enough to help her understand how people’s thoughts, minds, and hearts work.
On What A Bookshop Meant to Her
While working as an English tutor, Hwang Bo-Reum felt suffocated and often found solace by going to a bookstore. Every one of her readers agrees with her on this, including me. For readers like us, nothing compares to the peace of walking through an aisle filled with books we love to read.
On the Characters Closer to Her Heart
The only intention that Hwang Bo-Reum had when she started writing the novel was how she wanted the readers to feel comforted by the characters that she had written. And true to her words, those who have read the story found a piece of themselves in each of the characters.
She also added that out of all the characters in her book, the character she exerted more effort on was Minjun, because she wanted Minjun to have a self-satisfying life. Because she believes that there’s a power coming from self-satisfaction, and if there’s any other goal in life that he wants to pursue, he’ll be able to do it.
On Her Current Project
Unfortunately, she couldn’t provide any hints about her current project. Still, she mentioned that her draft is under primary review with a publisher and may be published in Korea next year.
To everyone who’s still contemplating reading Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, all I can say is, “Start reading it!”
It is not the typical book you would read. And surprisingly, this novel felt like a friend you wanted to connect with rather than just a book, possibly because you find bits of yourself in each of the characters in it.
