Description

Welcome back!
This is the ALWAYS Convenience Store in Cheongpyeong-dong.
It’s been a year and a half since Deok-go left, and a new night shift worker arrives at the ALWAYS Convenience Store.
This large man, whose burdensome behavior reminds someone of a past acquaintance, remains unfazed by the manager Seon-sook's scolding and the owner Min-sik's pressure, leisurely guarding the store through the night...
A place where hearts gather, stories are exchanged, and tears and laughter burst forth
The deeper story of a convenience store that is uncomfortable yet makes you want to return begins!
Where is that man who was recovering his memories while guarding the dawn here a year and a half ago? He said he spent a warm winter here, but where is he staying during this tropical summer? This convenience store, which is so cool it feels chilly, was said to be a warm space like a stove when he was here... Was it really like that?
Geun-bae projected Deok-go's image throughout the convenience store. It wasn’t easy, but that was his job.
_Excerpt from the text
With a richer story and characters full of curiosity
People going through tough times gather again at the convenience store!
Welcome back
This is the ALWAYS Convenience Store in Cheongpyeong-dong.
After more than a year since its publication, the novel "Convenience Store" by author Kim Ho-yeon, which has been loved by readers and has maintained a position among bestsellers, returns with its second story. Set in a small convenience store in the alleys of Cheongpyeong-dong, "Convenience Store" depicts the lives of our neighbors living through difficult times in a warm and cheerful manner, achieving the remarkable record of being the number one comprehensive bestseller at Kyobo Bookstore, Youngpoong Bookstore, and Yes24 in the first half of 2022, with 700,000 copies sold. It was selected as Yes24's 'Book of the Year' in 2021, and in 2022, it was chosen as 'Book of the Year' by citizens from 25 local governments across the country, and interest in the novel continues to this day.
The story of Deok-go, a homeless man at Seoul Station, starting his job as a night shift worker at the convenience store, provided unpredictable laughter and warm comfort. "Convenience Store 2" continues the wit and deep perspective of the first part, drawing readers in with an even richer story. The novel begins by sketching the convenience store on a summer day a year and a half after the first part. In the meantime, the world has changed, and the ALWAYS Convenience Store in Cheongpyeong-dong has also undergone various changes. The description of having to wear masks in the suffocating heat hints at the reality of COVID-19 within the novel. Seon-sook, who was frustrated due to conflicts with her son, has become the manager, and Min-sik, the troublemaker son of Mrs. Yeom who insisted on selling the convenience store, has become the owner. Although he is called the owner, Min-sik shows no interest in management and is solely focused on cutting costs like reducing benefits, making the convenience store 'truly uncomfortable' in many ways... Then, as the night shift worker responsible for the night, Mr. Kwak, quits, a new night shift worker arrives, bringing another change to the convenience store.
The new worker is a man in his 40s whose large build and burdensome behavior remind someone of a past acquaintance. He boasts an impressive resume as if he were a human part-timer, but he is clumsy when it comes to convenience store work. Moreover, he is so chatty and meddlesome that he often gets scolded by manager Seon-sook. Regardless, he wears a name tag with the nickname Hong Geum-bo instead of his real name, Hwang Geun-bae, and leisurely greets customers while guarding the convenience store at night.
A place where hearts gather, stories accumulate, and tears and laughter burst forth
The deeper story of a convenience store that is uncomfortable yet makes you want to return begins!
Geun-bae approaches customers and colleagues with amazing affinity, listening to their stories. His fellow job seeker So-jin, who keeps failing job interviews and feels like a fool for almost falling for a notorious black company, the owner of a nearby butcher shop, Mr. Choi, who struggles with business due to COVID-19 distancing measures and drinks alone every night at the convenience store's outdoor table, and Min-kyu, a high school student who is hurt by a poor home environment and frequent fights between his parents as he spends more time at home due to remote learning. Geun-bae's interest in them is sometimes perceived as 'meddling' or 'annoying superiority', but his 'sincere goodwill' ultimately gets through to them. He even manages to touch the heart of owner Min-sik, who is full of bravado and pretense.
When Geun-bae hands a brown drink to a teary-eyed So-jin, raises a drink that looks like beer next to Mr. Choi who is drinking alone, and shares expired snacks with Min-kyu, who comes to the convenience store every day to escape the heat, readers can’t help but think of Deok-go. In fact, Geun-bae often thinks of Deok-go in the quiet dawn.
Where is that man who was recovering his memories while guarding the dawn here a year and a half ago? He said he spent a warm winter here, but where is he staying during this tropical summer? This convenience store, which is so cool it feels chilly, was said to be a warm space like a stove when he was here... Was it really like that? Geun-bae projected Deok-go's image throughout the convenience store. It wasn’t easy, but that was his job. (Page 164)
What is his connection to Deok-go? What brought him to this convenience store? Where is Mrs. Yeom, who shared a friendship with Deok-go, now that she has left the convenience store to her son? As curiosity rises, questions are gradually answered, and the novel dramatically intersects with the story of the first part.
A light that guards life, a post that protects hope
The narrative style, which changes the central character in each of the eight episodes, along with the lively characters that could exist somewhere in reality, and the powerful storytelling that immerses readers in the story remain unchanged. It is not an exaggeration to say that all the characters in "Convenience Store 2" are going through a season of hardship. Even Geun-bae, who cheerfully recites “comparison is cancer, worry is poison,” is not exempt. The global disaster of the pandemic has brought them trials and worries, demanded exploration, forced them to reflect on things they had set aside, and made them think about real life. In that process, they share pain, change, rise, and dream. They cherish small connections and muster courage. And they strive to laugh together again.
As Mrs. Yeom said, "I wanted that place, which is lit 24 hours a day, to guard my life like a security post," the small convenience store in the alley becomes a beacon of hope for the owner, employees, and customers, transcending hardship and disconnection.