BOOK CLUB REPORT - May 2026
KCCNYC Dosan Hakdang April Meeting - The Second Chance Convenience Store
By Sharon Stern
For April’s Dosan Hakdang Book Club, we read the book The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-yeon. Even though the book was not completely loved by every person in every way, we had a really lively and good discussion. So lively that I completely forgot to take notes at the beginning!
The book deals with a character who, at the beginning of the story, is homeless and living in Seoul Station. He can’t remember his past, due to alcohol-induced amnesia. He helps an older woman, whose bag had been stolen by a group of thieves. The woman owns a convenience store and ends up giving the man a second chance in his life by having him work the overnight shift at the store. Everyone doubts him at first, but as he stops drinking and throughout his night shifts, he has some very sage advice for people. At the end of the book, with his memory back, he sets off to try to correct some of the errors that brought him to the state we first find him in. There is a sequel that has been released, but it won’t be available until next year.
There were a number of themes we picked out that the book addresses: second chances (of course); the fact that everyone has a story (baggage); redemption; anxiety that is every-present in Korean society. We talked at length about the concept of redemption. The convenience store owner is noted to be a Christian at the very beginning of the book and we talked about this being an automatic concept in Christianity. We also discussed the plausibility of a single individual saying the right thing at the right time to multiple people, especially when they don’t seem to be an intrinsically good person. We know there are magically moments in life, where someone says just the right thing, though. And sometimes, all that a person needs is a new perspective. This reminded me of the poem A Visitor by Jung Hyeon Jong, which you can see a video of here.
We talked about Korean names that don’t translate well. Eun helped us understand that the name the main character uses – Dokgo – is a specific and rarely used Chinese last name that means isolated and independent, which describes the character well, even though he has these meaningful interactions with others. She also helped us understand that the title of the book is very different in Korean. In Korean the title is The Uncomfortable Convenience Store. That word Uncomfortable relates to the terminology used for disabilities. Eun said that if she had only seen the title in Korean, it probably wouldn’t be a book she would pick up.
Overall, we felt like it was a sweet book, but not over-the-top sweet, and at times, perhaps, not completely plausible, especially when we find out who Dokgo was before he became homeless.
May DOSAN HAKDANG:
The Hen who Dreamed She Could fly
In May, in celebration of the public holiday of Children's Day and the recognized celebration of Parent's Day, both in May in South Korea, we are going to read the short novel The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang. Sun-mi Hwang is an award-winning author of over forty books, for both adults and children. When this book came out in 1000, it was an immediate success and remained a best seller for ten years. An animated film was made from the book and was the highest grossing animated film in Korean history.
The book tells the story of a hen names Sprout. Frustrated at having to lay eggs on demand to be sold at market, she watches other animals that roam around the farm with more freedom and plans her escape. She also wants to hatch an egg of her own. It is a story about individuality, freedom, but also about the deep love of motherhood.
You can sign up for May’s Book Club here.
June Dosan Hakdang:
Park sang young & Love in the Big City
We are very delighted to announce that there will be an Author's Talk during our June 2026 Book Club as we celebrate Pride Month 2026!
For June 2026 Dosan Hakdang, we will celebrate Pride Month by reading Park Sang Young's Love in the Big City. The book has been longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, the International Dublin Literary Award 2023, and the Prix Medicis award for foreign literature 2024.Park Sang Young, the author of the book, will join us via Zoom from Korea to discuss the book with us. KCCNYC Dosan Hakdang is very grateful to have the author with us!Please join us on June 21st, 2026 at 8PM Eastern to share a heartwarming story with KCCNYC community! Please note that the time is different from our usual time slot.
You can RSVP here for the June Book Club meeting
