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On the hunt for an English bookstore to call home

Published: 27 Nov. 2022, 16:41 Updated: 03 Mar. 2023, 18:11

The Foreign Book Store, located in Itaewon in Yongsan District, central Seoul [AAMNA SHEHZAD]

For many foreign students who come to Korea with a love of literature, it can be somewhat difficult to find books to read because of the language barrier and the scarcity of English bookstores — especially physical ones.

Many bookstores around the city only sell Korean texts, which are not always the easiest option for the 1.96 million foreigners living in Korea as of 2021, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service.

“English books are available, although not widely,” said Latifa Sekarini, an undergraduate student at Yonsei University. “Since I moved to Korea, I started finding books online. If you’re a U.S. citizen, you can probably make an account on apps like Libby and connect it to an actual library card in a U.S. state. I did that several times because Korean bookstores just do not have the books I want, or it would take too long to deliver books.”

Although selection and availability are some big concerns, most foreigners do try to turn to online bookstores to obtain English books they want to read.

One famous online store is Aladin, where you can browse through many sections and genres and buy physical copies and even eBooks if the option is available. There is also a used book section that you can browse to see if you can get the titles you want for a cheaper price. Aladin is available in Korean, though, so it might be a bit tricky to navigate. It also offers one-day shipping for many books, so it would be handy in case you immediately need a book for one of your classes.

Another convenient online store that offers a great selection is the Kyobo Book Centre. This store doesn’t offer an English browsing option, but it is easy to navigate. You can even place orders for certain books, including college textbooks. Kyobo also has a mobile app for Samsung Galaxy users called Kyobo eBook for Samsung, so you can download the app for further convenience.

The biggest physical bookstore in Korea with an English books section is Kyobo Book Centre’s Gwanghwamun branch, located in Jongno District, central Seoul. It was opened in 1981 and since then, the store has undergone many renovations and changes, also recently extending its English section.

The English book section at Kyobo Book Centre’s Gwanghwamun branch in central Seoul [LEE TAE-HEE]

“In theory, I prefer buying books offline, because you can take a look at the blurb and if it is unsealed, you can flip through the pages,” said Sekarini. “There is this particular bookstore I enjoyed visiting, and it is called Hidden Book. Although the shelves are quite narrow and like any other second-hand bookstore you cannot visit with a specific book in mind because there is no guarantee they will have it, I always enjoy looking through the books they have. I’ve found really interesting books for a good price.”

One of the oldest bookstores in Korea that specializes in selling English books is the Foreign Book Store, located in Yongsan District in central Seoul. The store was opened in 1973 to sell used books from American soldiers and families at the military base in Yongsan District. The store still sells used books as well as new books.

The exterior of the Foreign Book Store displays shelves of all of kinds of books, which are mostly dictionaries and children’s books. [AAMNA SHEHZAD]

The exterior of the store is covered in shelves of books — mostly children’s books — and is a fitting appetizer for the sheer number of books inside the store. Inside, you find yourself overwhelmed as there is not an inch of wall that is not covered in books.

The greatest thing about the Itaewon Foreign Bookstore is its selection. The right wall next to the entrance is covered in fantasy titles like “Lord of the Rings” and “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The shelves right in front of it hold non-fiction titles and bestsellers, while a small corridor to the right leads to a cave of children’s literature and a mishmash of other genres.

The back of the store is full of educational books like encyclopedias and books on subjects like cooking, gardening and crafts. There are also spaces dedicated to specific authors such as Haruki Murakami and Mitch Albom.

A lot of the charm of the store comes from the fact that it sells both used and new books. The store indicates their condition using stickers — green indicates lightly used books, yellow indicates used books, and red indicates heavily used books.

There are also some English book clubs in Seoul where avid book readers can find a community. One such club is the Itaewon Book Club. Christopher Jones and Brian Baker — who worked at the Seoul English Education Center in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi — founded the club in 2015.

“We [ran the club] for a while, just the two of us, and then slowly but surely some more members came in and they stayed for a while and then they left and then other members would join and they stayed,” said Jones. “But all throughout we’ve had a steady stream of committed members and the reason [the club] has stayed around is because I think we all enjoy a good book.”

Shortly after, Jones and Baker made the group public by creating a Meetup page on the internet. Anyone can go to the website, sign up, and keep up with club meeting announcements.

“I try my best to get the conversation started with what I found most interesting about the book,” said Jones. “And then we just let the conversation go in the most organic way possible, like whatever people find interesting and whatever other people find interesting about that.”

The club used to meet offline but switched to an online format due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Jones expressed his wish to resume face-to-face meetings soon and painted a very inviting picture of what offline club meetings look like.

The club has open membership. You don’t need to qualify for anything to apply — you just have to click the “join” button on the club’s Meetup page and show up to the meetings having read the book up for discussion that day.

“Heated arguments often come up, you know, and it’s part of one of the nice areas of life occasionally,” said Jones. “But there is only one rule that I like to abide by, that I ask everyone to abide by in the club is just don’t interrupt people.”

“You can say anything you like but please don’t speak over someone, please wait until the other person is done speaking before you do because, in my experience, if two people are arguing, one person doesn’t have to be proven right or show himself to be the winner of the argument. A person just wants to know that they’ve been heard. I think that goes a long way in making an environment where a group of total strangers can come together and talk about deep and rich themes together.”

Given the number of book clubs and bookstores that increasingly include English sections, it would seem that the English reading culture in Korea is thriving. However, English reading communities are still scarce and foreigners still feel the need for more reading options in Korean bookstores.

“From a university student’s perspective, I’d say it would broaden the topic for research, since a ton of students can benefit from it,” said Sekarini. “Maybe there are students who would like to do research for their thesis, or students who want to broaden their vocabulary.

“I think Korea would also benefit from having more books that are translated into English from non-East Asian countries. South Asian and Southeast Asian nations have great works that have been translated into English. I remember one of my friends telling me that it was super hard for her to find English translations of South Asian works.”

BY STUDENT REPORTER AAMNA SHEHZAD