"Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop" by Hwang Bo-reum (ii)
This is post 2/2 from reading Hwang Bo-reum’s book, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.
You won’t know until you start. Don’t decide the future before it happens. —Seungwoo
I’m finished with Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum. I'll be processing my notes soon. There are so many good parts in the novel it’s full of stickies. For now, here are my thoughts briefly.
But first, some context: I don’t watch K-dramas (or any TV, for that matter), and I don’t listen to K-pop. But I love a good Korean novel (translated into English, of course). This book is one such novel!
One of the characters in the book, Seungwoo, is easily my favorite. The author has portrayed him as a stoic wordsmith (he’s a coder turned writer). Today’s quote is his.
I loved his approach to talking to people when people talk to him. He gives people the space to think and respond to some of life's trickiest questions and choices. But most of all, I loved his interaction with Yeongju (the protagonist who is the owner of the Hyunam-dong Bookshop).
Why this quote resonates with me: It underscores the importance of taking the first step and embracing uncertainty. Start!
It’s easy to be paralyzed by the unknown in our personal and professional lives. However, action and experience often uncover opportunities and insights we never imagined.
Personally, I've done this a few times to the detriment of my reputation (i.e., being labeled as 'volatile' and 'indecisive'). However, the end results spoke for themselves, and all my past experiments helped me reach a steady state.
Don’t get me wrong. My actions were well researched (at that point in time) and thoroughly considered (impact on others and myself). I don’t do this all the time and haphazardly. Let’s just say I don’t have ‘execution hesitation’ and I’m a bit unconventional. I make mistakes, and I learn. How? At work, while planning is essential, overthinking and delaying decisions can hinder progress (caveat: sometimes the latter can be beneficial). It’s crucial to move forward, adapt, and grow with each step. Marry resilience with agility.
I want to end with this quote (this time, it’s from the enlightened Minjun, the bookshop coffee barista, on what he wants to do):
First, to cruise alongside what life has to offer. Then, to live it chasing dreams. And for the last shot in life, to live the life that I was better suited for, and to enjoy it as much as I can.
I’ve been there and done that. And I’m living my last shot in life now.
