[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] “It delivers emotion through small everyday stories without forcing a moral lesson. Stories of ordinary daily life, stripped of grandiosity, convey a sense of intimacy.”
This is one of the online comments on Kim Ho-yeon’s novel Bulpyunhan Pyeonuijeom (Uncomfortable Convenience Store). The novel, published in April last year, has sold approximately 700,000 copies. In today’s publishing industry, where selling 300,000 copies is considered a “hit,” it emerged like a comet and attracted attention. It swept the top spot on the comprehensive bestseller lists of major bookstores such as Kyobo Bookstore, Youngpoong Bookstore, and Yes24, and was selected as “Book of the Year” by Yes24. It was also chosen as “Book of the Year” by readers in 25 local governments nationwide.
The novel depicts the story of Dokgo, a homeless man at Seoul Station, who is hired as a night shift part-time employee at a convenience store. It is a “healing” novel about how Dokgo, who initially seemed brusque in his relationships, creates an “uncomfortable” yet endearing convenience store that breaks down prejudices through unexpected facets of his character.
The protagonist was inspired by a close senior of the author. Upon hearing that a tough-looking, somewhat awkward older brother had opened a convenience store, the author reflected the thought, “A person who used to be a so-called ‘problematic customer’ running a convenience store? that store must be really uncomfortable,” into the work.
Kim, who majored in Korean literature and worked at a publishing company, recognized that “popular novels” are a global trend. Believing that a story alone could make a novel, he relaxed and picked up the pen. The result was a huge success. Readers were enthusiastic, and thanks to that, he recently published the second volume of Bulpyunhan Pyeonuijeom.
The second volume is set in the current era facing COVID-19. Yeom Young-sook, the store owner, has a troublesome son who becomes the convenience store owner, and senior part-timer Oh Seon-sook becomes the manager. New characters such as night and day part-timers and Mr. Choi, a convenience store customer who runs a butcher restaurant, convey “healing.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
