A calming, cleansing read, In the author's afterword, Hwang Bo-Reum mentioned while she didn't have a solid plot planned when writing Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, she did have a very specific 'atmosphere' she wanted to capture, and I think she achieved it—centering around the theme of self-discovery and defining one's success (outside of societal norm), the novel reads like a dose of encouragement among everyday chaos. I appreciate the presence of an actual plot and character development (rather than a series of disconnected vignettes typical of cozy fiction), and as a independent bookstore goer and coffee drinker—the sprinkles of factoids related to running these businesses are much welcomed.

Typical to cozy literature, there's always certain amount of 'life lesson' throughout, and personally I still find these advice overly generalized and trite ('one doesn't need to pursue higher education if they don't want to'); wishing they are more seamlessly embedded into the narrative, rather than sticking out like highlighted quotables ready to be shared. While Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop's overall message is universal, there are details that can only be appreciated fully if one has a general understanding of Korean culture, custom, and cultural worldview.

This is my first Korean cozy fiction (ones I've read in the past were all Japanese ones), and it definitely provided some food for thoughts during a frantic week at my corporate job. Still don't have a favorite from this sub genre (What You Are Looking For Is in the Library ranks the highest for me thus far), but I'm willing to keep exploring!