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Translated from the Korean bestseller “불편한 편의점,” Kim Ho-Yeon’s quietly affecting novel arrives in English with all the warmth and layered humanity of a Richard Curtis script, if scripted by Raymond Carver and set in a Seoul alleyway.
Translated from the Korean bestseller “불편한 편의점,” Kim Ho-Yeon’s quietly affecting novel arrives in English with all the warmth and layered humanity of a Richard Curtis script, if scripted by Raymond Carver and set in a Seoul alleyway.
In The Second Chance Convenience Store, we enter the world of Mrs. Yeom, a seventy-year-old widow and retired history teacher who owns a struggling shop tucked near Seoul Station. When a homeless man named Dokgo returns her stolen wallet—and takes a beating to do so—she offers him a job. What unfolds is not just a redemptive tale of second chances, but an ode to overlooked corners of urban life, where resilience quietly survives under fluorescent lights.
Kim Ho-Yeon’s prose, beautifully translated, is understated but piercing. He avoids melodrama, opting instead for daily textures: the warmth of doenjang soup, the quiet discipline of a part-time worker, the humbling dignity of a man once discarded by society.
This is not just a feel-good narrative. It is a slow-burning reckoning with aging, dignity, capitalism, and the invisible social architecture of cities. Dokgo is neither martyr nor saint, and Mrs. Yeom is no fool—her compassion is fierce, but never naïve.
A standout in contemporary translated fiction, the book speaks volumes to our post-pandemic world where community is both scarce and sacred.
Eric Akoto is the founder of Litro Magazine, where new writing meets the world, and The Sphere Initiative, a platform protecting creative rights globally. A writer and editor, he champions diverse voices and experimental storytelling. His work spans publishing, cultural programming, and advocacy at the intersection of literature and technology.
