THE STRAITSTIMES / November 12, 2023

Book lovers who read this novel will come out of it fantasising about their ideal bookstore. They might even walk away with a few nifty ideas about how to run one. In Welcome To The Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Yeongju – who once threw herself into reading to mend a broken childhood friendship – opens a bookstore in a quiet neighbourhood to escape from a life that was “siphoning her soul away”.

Scroll.in / November 26, 2023

I finished Welcome to Hyunam-Dong Bookshop the day I visited The Bookshop Inc at Lodhi Road in Delhi. Before my visit, I had been wondering why so many writers like to situate their books inside bookshops. From Calvino to Yagisawa, books where a bookshop plays an important role could be a genre unto itself.

World Literature Today / February 20, 2024

Hwang Bo-reum’s debut novel, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, translated by Shanna Tan, was published on February 20 by Bloomsbury. In this independent bookshop in a residential neighborhood in Seoul, several characters find connection and work through life’s big questions. source: https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/interviews/10-questions-hwang-bo-reum-michelle-johnson

NIKKEI ASIA / March 08, 2024

The Korean boom in Japan has spilled into the literary space as Japanese readers devour books by South Korean writers depicting social injustices and cruelties that often mirror their own lives.

ANN / March 26, 2024

At some point in their lives, many people pause and ask, “Is this the life I wanted?” We find ourselves overwhelmed by work, experiencing burnout as professional obligations overshadow personal lives. This critical juncture prompts introspection — a moment to reassess one’s life and ask if this path is truly what I wanted. Hwang Bo-reum’s bestselling novel, “Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop” begins with Yeong-ju, who is burnt out. She leaves behind her old life — she abandons her high-flying career and divorces her husband — and opens a bookshop in a quaint residential neighborhood in Seoul. Surrounded by books, she finds new meaning in life as the bookshop morphs into an inviting space for hurt and lost souls to rest, heal and learn about what is truly important in life.

朝日新聞デジタル / April 10, 2024

10日に発表された本屋大賞では、大賞作「成瀬は天下を取りにいく」のほか、翻訳小説部門と、２０２２年11月以前に刊行された作品を対象にした発掘部門が選ばれた。 　翻訳部門は「ようこそ、ヒュナム洞書店へ」（ファン・ボルム著、牧野美加訳、集英社）に。発表会にはファンさんと牧野さんが共に韓国から出席した。 　ファンさんは執筆中に日本の映画からインスピレーションを受けていたことを明かし、日本の読者が親しみを持って読んでくれたことを喜んだ。