Soyangri Book Kitchen

A Novel

De: Kim Jee Hye, Shanna Tan - translator

A heartwarming debut novel from a South Korean author about the power of books to heal, as a woman leaves her busy life in Seoul to open a book café in a small town.

With good books, good food and companionship, the Book Kitchen fills people's tired souls. Yoojin, who grew up in Seoul, opened the Book Kitchen by chance in Soyangri, a village two hours from Seoul by car. The Book Kitchen functions as a bookshop and café, where books are sold and book-related events take place. The second function of the Book Kitchen is a Book Stay, where one can stay overnight in one of the building’s four complexes. All four complexes are arranged in a cross shape with a botanical garden in the middle.
Over the course of one year, multiple characters each find comfort and hope at Yoojin’s Book Kitchen. From a music idol facing an identity crisis, to a promising lawyer beset by an unsettling medical diagnosis, to a young, failed music director who has had to rein in his dreams, they happen upon Soyangri at pivotal moments in their lives. The Book Kitchen offers good food, good books, and the company of people to whom they can open their hearts.

This charming and uplifting novel is perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.

©2025 Kim Jee Hye (P)2025 Union Square & Company