Soyangri Book Kitchen

Soyangri Book Kitchen is a warm, restorative novel about Yoojin, a woman who leaves behind her demanding life in Seoul and opens a combined bookshop, café, and overnight retreat in the rural village of Soyangri, about two hours from the city. The Book Kitchen offers shelves of books, comforting food, literary gatherings, and “Book Stay” accommodation in four guest spaces around a botanical garden.

Over one year, seven people arrive at the Book Kitchen at vulnerable moments in their lives. Among them are Da-In, a music idol struggling with identity; Mari, a promising lawyer confronting a serious medical diagnosis; and Soohyuk, a young music director whose creative ambitions have been undermined by failure. Through books, meals, conversation, and the quiet generosity of others, they begin to reconnect with hope and with themselves.

Originally published in Korean as Chaekdeurui Bueok in 2022, the novel was translated into English by Shanna Tan. It is a gentle “healing fiction” story about burnout, belonging, recovery, and the small places that make emotional renewal possible.