The wondrous corner shop

Random and extraordinary encounters in a Korean convenience store

The Uncanny Convenience Store tells a story full of hope, humanity and unexpected meetings. At the centre of the narrative is a mysterious man nicknamed Dokgo, who goes from being homeless to working the night shift at a small convenience store. Although he suffers from partial memory loss and seems clumsy, his presence gradually begins to change the lives of everyone around him – from the seventy-year-old shop owner to an ambitious student preparing for her civil service exams and an exhausted sales representative.

Within the walls of this unassuming convenience store, a story of second chances, forgiveness and the power of community unfolds. Author Kim Ho-yeon masterfully weaves together the fates of the individual characters, their daily joys and sorrows, creating a multi-layered novel that will make readers both laugh and cry. Through intimate portraits of ordinary people, he uncovers universal themes of redemption, interpersonal relationships and finding one's place in the world.

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The part-timers and customers of the convenience store are a bit like losers. Some might say they are insignificant people, but at the same time they are real and can move us. They realise things that have been forgotten or hidden in a cruel reality, and they break free like butterflies from a chrysalis.
— Korean reviewer, Gyeongju Sinmun

This touching story started the trend for Korean feel-good literature, which offers comfort and relief from the problems of modern life.
— The Korea Times