On the hunt for an English bookstore to call home

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.

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

For many foreign students who come to <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea with a love of literature, it can be somewhat difficult to find boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s to read because of the language barrier and the scarcity of English boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores — especially physical ones.

Many boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores around the city only sell <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orean texts, which are not always the easiest option for the 1.96 million foreigners living in <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea as of 2021, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service.

“English boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s are available, although not widely,” said Latifa Se<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>arini, an undergraduate student at Yonsei University. “Since I moved to <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea, I started finding boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s online. If you’re a U.S. citizen, you can probably ma<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e an account on apps li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e Libby and connect it to an actual library card in a U.S. state. I did that several times because <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orean boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores just do not have the boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s I want, or it would ta<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e too long to deliver boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s.”

Although selection and availability are some big concerns, most foreigners do try to turn to online boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores to obtain English boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s 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 eBoo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s if the option is available. There is also a used boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> section that you can browse to see if you can get the titles you want for a cheaper price. Aladin is available in <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orean, though, so it might be a bit tric<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>y to navigate. It also offers one-day shipping for many boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s, so it would be handy in case you immediately need a boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> for one of your classes.

Another convenient online store that offers a great selection is the <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>yobo Boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> Centre. This store doesn’t offer an English browsing option, but it is easy to navigate. You can even place orders for certain boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s, including college textboo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s. <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>yobo also has a mobile app for Samsung Galaxy users called <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>yobo eBoo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> for Samsung, so you can download the app for further convenience.

The biggest physical boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>store in <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea with an English boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s section is <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>yobo Boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> 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 boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s offline, because you can ta<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e a loo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> at the blurb and if it is unsealed, you can flip through the pages,” said Se<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>arini. “There is this particular boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>store I enjoyed visiting, and it is called Hidden Boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>. Although the shelves are quite narrow and li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e any other second-hand boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>store you cannot visit with a specific boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> in mind because there is no guarantee they will have it, I always enjoy loo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>ing through the boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s they have. I’ve found really interesting boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s for a good price.”

One of the oldest boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores in <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea that specializes in selling English boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s is the Foreign Boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> Store, located in Yongsan District in central Seoul. The store was opened in 1973 to sell used boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s from American soldiers and families at the military base in Yongsan District. The store still sells used boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s as well as new boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s.

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 boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s — mostly children’s boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s — and is a fitting appetizer for the sheer number of boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s inside the store. Inside, you find yourself overwhelmed as there is not an inch of wall that is not covered in boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s.

The greatest thing about the Itaewon Foreign Boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>store is its selection. The right wall next to the entrance is covered in fantasy titles li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e “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 bac<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> of the store is full of educational boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e encyclopedias and boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s on subjects like coo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>ing, gardening and crafts. There are also spaces dedicated to specific authors such as Haru<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>i Mura<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>ami and Mitch Albom.

A lot of the charm of the store comes from the fact that it sells both used and new boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s. The store indicates their condition using stic<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>ers — green indicates lightly used boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s, yellow indicates used boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s, and red indicates heavily used boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s.

There are also some English boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> clubs in Seoul where avid boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> readers can find a community. One such club is the Itaewon Boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> Club. Christopher Jones and Brian Ba<chrome_find class="find_in_page" style="font-size: inherit;"> k</chrome_find>er — who wor<chrome_find class="find_in_page" style="font-size: inherit;"> k</chrome_find>ed 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 thin<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> we all enjoy a good boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>.”

Shortly after, Jones and Ba<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>er made the group public by creating a Meetup page on the internet. Anyone can go to the website, sign up, and <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>eep up with club meeting announcements.

“I try my best to get the conversation started with what I found most interesting about the boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>,” said Jones. “And then we just let the conversation go in the most organic way possible, li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e 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 loo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e.

The club has open membership. You don’t need to qualify for anything to apply — you just have to clic<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> the “join” button on the club’s Meetup page and show up to the meetings having read the boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> up for discussion that day.

“Heated arguments often come up, you <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>now, and it’s part of one of the nice areas of life occasionally,” said Jones. “But there is only one rule that I li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e to abide by, that I as<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> everyone to abide by in the club is just don’t interrupt people.”

“You can say anything you li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e but please don’t spea<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> over someone, please wait until the other person is done spea<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>ing 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 <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>now that they’ve been heard. I thin<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> that goes a long way in ma<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>ing an environment where a group of total strangers can come together and tal<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> about deep and rich themes together.”

Given the number of boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k </chrome_find>clubs and boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores that increasingly include English sections, it would seem that the English reading culture in <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea is thriving. However, English reading communities are still scarce and foreigners still feel the need for more reading options in <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orean boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>stores.

“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 Se<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>arini. “Maybe there are students who would li<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>e to do research for their thesis, or students who want to broaden their vocabulary.

“I thin<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find> <chrome_find class="find_in_page"> K</chrome_find>orea would also benefit from having more boo<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s that are translated into English from non-East Asian countries. South Asian and Southeast Asian nations have great wor<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s 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 wor<chrome_find class="find_in_page"> k</chrome_find>s.”

BY STUDENT REPORTER AAMNA SHEHZAD