There’s no better cure for a burnout or a heartbreak than a small seaside town where everyone knows everyone. This art of healing content is perfected by K-dramas. What if I tell you that the healing vibes of “Hometown Cha Cha Cha”, “Summer Strike” and “It’s Okay to Not be Okay” are found in Korean literature as well?

During my deep dive in the Korean Healing Fiction genre, I was pleasantly surprised to experience the intense feel-good vibe of healing k-dramas in books. In hindsight, this was to be expected. A small town on the shoreline or set in Jeju Island with its quietness, kind-if-somewhat-meddling neighbours and a break from the hustle-bustle of life, these are the ingredients of getting some perspective back in life and South Korea has dotted all the i-s and cross all the t-s when it comes to capturing the essence of it.

Here is the list of the two Korean Healing Fiction books that have made me want to read more of this genre and the one next on my list:

Hakuda Photo Studio by Her Tae-Yeon

Jebi is on a vacation to Jeju but on the day of her return, things go awry and she has to take a job at the Hakuda Photo Studio in a small village. Hakuda Photo Studio by Her Tae-Yeon is set in this Giant Octopus village, named for the mythical creature, where haenyeos are carrying on the generational profession of free diving into the sea to harvest all sorts of seafoods.

I was transported at once to this quiet town of refections and complicated people living simple lives. Jebi came to Jeju with her emotional baggage for a month away from real life. While she planned an escape, the prolonged stay made her confront her past and own up to her failings.

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The reflections on life were not thrust in your face but arrived at with the protagonist as she interacted with very different sorts of people in the course of her work at the studio. As an amateur photographer, I liked reading about Seokyeong, the studio’s owner handling business and clients while dealing with his own issues in life.

The flow of the story was great and the atmosphere of Jeju was brought alive through the narrative. While I have read Japanese Healing Fiction a lot — Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series, everything by Satoshi Yagisawa to name a few — reading this book started me on a Korean Healing Fiction reading journey that has me embracing the calm as a reader.

This book reminded me of “Hometown Cha Cha Cha”.

The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon

I have never read book more blatantly about hope put across so gentle but with a side of mystery to it. The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon embodies the best of both world when it introduces an unhoused man living in Seoul station to a kind owner of a convenience store.

Dokgo does not remember his life before homelessness. He does not even remember his name. Malpractice, alcoholism and homelessness are key issues discussed in this book and I was pleasantly surprised to see real criticism of the system in a book that was supposed to be just a feel-good. But we do not exist in a vacuum. In a number of ways, that is also the core message of the book.

As we get introduced to the people who visit the convenience store Dokgo is hired at, we get glimpses of their life. As Dokgo keeps getting tangled into these lives, he starts to remember his own life before misfortune found him.

But this all begins with an act of kindness that dares to go beyond stereotypes and prejudices when the owner of the store takes a chance on him and that set off a domino effect that touches the lives of a number of people. This book reminded me of “While You Were Sleeping”, a little bit of an older K-drama that also had a mystery, albeit more intense, at its core while acts of kindness touched people’s lives.

The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon So-Min

Now, reading these books back to back dumped me in an algorithm of Korean Healing Fiction where I figured out that it is in fact a thriving genre. But with that discovery, came the good problem of plenty. How do I choose the next read amidst this many highly acclaimed books?

This is when I came across The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon So-Min. Jungmin’s burnout felt personal to me when I read the blurb. The protagonist is trying to get her life back on track after a hiatus but instead of jumping into the grind right away, she finds her way back to herself by slowing down.

Pottery is a way to connect with oneself here. It is a way to keep your hands busy while you slow down and reflect. This story promises genuine human connections and community — all the aspects that I am looking for after reading the previous two books.

Just from the blurb, this book reminds me of “Chocolate” and “Tastefully Yours” for their burnout and recover themes while pursuing an artistic passion. I am looking forward to reading this book and welcome you to join me on a readalong from 24th of April to 27th of April. This will be hosted on Threads to keep the book discussion public (and I really don’t like group chats). You can connect with me here for the readalong.

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Have you read any of the Korean Healing Fiction books or these book specifically? What are your thoughts on them?

Feel free to drop a comment or reach out to me across social media at @thecalcuttanbibliophile. I would love to hear from you.