The Second Chance Convenience Store (UK Edition)

The Second Chance Convenience Store is a Korean million copy bestselling novel set in Seoul telling the charming story of a store owner who gives those who work for her a second chance at life. For fans of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop.

'Holding on to the belief that life had meaning and must go on, I, too, would carry on.'

In this million-copy bestseller from Korea, the owner of a corner store takes in a homeless man who does a good deed – a kind soul whose presence will transform the whole neighbourhood.

Seoul Station is home to Dokgo, a man shrouded in mystery with no memories of his past. Until one day his subdued existence is disrupted when he stumbles upon a lost wallet, triggering a chain of events that will change the course of his life.

Enter Mrs. Yeom, a retired history teacher turned convenience store owner, who, upon discovering Dokgo's act of kindness in returning her purse, offers him a meal as a token of her gratitude. Their chance encounter blossoms into an unexpected alliance when the man’s bravery saves the store from ruin, earning him not just a job but a place in the heart of the neighbourhood.

But just when things are looking up for Dokgo, Mrs. Yeom's troubled son, eager to sell the store, hires a detective to dig into the mysterious man's past and unearth what he seems to be trying so hard to forget...

The Second Chance Convenience Store is a moving and joyful story of a woman fighting for her community and a man who has lost everything except the will to try again.

About the Author

Kim Ho-yeon has worked as a novelist, playwright, and comic book writer. He won the 9th Segye Literary Prize (offered by the Segye Ilbo newspaper) in 2013, and in 2021, was awarded Yes24 Book of the Year and Millie Audiobook of the Year. He lives in Seoul.

About the Translator

Janet Hong is a writer and translator based in Vancouver, Canada. She received the 2018 TA First Translation Prize and the 2018 LTI Korea Translation Award for her translation of Han Yujoo’s The Impossible Fairy Tale, which was also a finalist for the 2018 PEN Translation Prize and the 2018 National Translation Award. Translations include Kwon Yeo-sun's Lemon, Ha Seong-nan's Bluebeard’s First Wife, and Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s Grass.

Dimensions: 13 x 1.3 x 19.7 cm