When Dok-go, finds a purse and rescues it from bandits, his good deed opens up a new life style he never thought he deserved. Now both he and his wondefully sweet boss Mrs. Yeom will work through assumptions and hard people as they try to save the community.

This book hooked me from the get go. I LOVED the characters. It read like a slice of life kdrama. I would honestly love to see this book come to life. Beautiful character development and a quick read. Very fun.

So cute! THE SECOND CHANCE CONVENIENCE STORE is the latest offering in this new trend of Asian “cozy healing” novels: stories that feel like a hug, or a warm cup of your favorite drink at your favorite local cafe. It’s breezy and heartwarming, but not particularly deep–not that it has to be.

Everything about this book, from its cover to its premise, is cute cute cute. (Side note: I’m so jealous of books that get these kinds of covers. I want to collect all of them and display them, cover side out, on my wall.) When a noble homeless man saves a woman’s lost wallet from thieves, she invites him to work at her 24-hour convenience store. There, a cast of characters come into the story and interact with the man, learning something about themselves, their community, or their world in the process.

Like most novels of this genre, there is an episodic feel to SECOND CHANCE. Each chapter focuses on one character, and then that character becomes a side character in subsequent chapters/”episodes.” Most of these characters have a pretty simple arc, and achieve redemption or enlightenment by the end.

Interestingly (to me at least), SECOND CHANCE gives me a sort of “fairy tale” feel, especially as regards the mysterious homeless man, who we don’t know very well, but whose calm and values-driven presence positively impacts those around him. There’s a nice little bit at the end where we get the man’s perspective to tie things up; I didn’t think it was all that necessary, but it is what it is.

If you love cozy healing novels, THE SECOND CHANCE CONVENIENCE STORE is not to be missed. If, like me, you can only enjoy these types of stories in small quantities, I will say that I enjoyed it more than Yeonnam-dong’s Smiley Laundromat, but a smidge less than Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.

✨Second Chance/Redemption Arc
✨Found Family
✨Slice of Life

"To reveal a character, one simply needs to show the path they chose at life's crossroads."

A beautiful book on the kindness of strangers and how we can change the course of someone’s life, while also being changed by treating others as more valuable than ourselves. I loved the found family of this book, and the abundance of heartwarming moments that remind us of the power of community and compassion. The only issue I had was pacing which made it heard to get through but I love how well the characters were written such that the reader is invested and pulled in. Would recommend to those who like Korean fiction!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of the Second Chance Convenience Store by Ho-Yeon Kim! This book follows a homeless man suffering from alcohol related memory loss who returns a stolen purse to an elderly women, who in turns feeds him and hires him on at her convenience store where he has a ripple effect making a difference in the lives of many while trying to uncover who he used to be. The messages in this book are profound and meaningful -- we are all connected, and kindness goes a long way. I also am a fan of books that touch on the early COVID pandemic experience, which this does. Definitely recommend this to anyone looking for inspiration.

"In the end, life boiled down to relationships, and relationships to communication. Happiness, I realized, wasn't far off. It was in sharing our hearts and minds with those around us."

This was a really lovely and poignant read. I've read a lot of Japanese "healing fiction" but not as much Korean, so this was a pleasant surprise since I found it had more depth than I'd expect from this kind of book. I also appreciated learning even more about Korean culture. I also like how the characters themselves tied the story together. I'd love to read more from this author! Also, kudos to the translator because it reads very smoothly and that isn't always the case with translations.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I'd imagine anyone who picks it up will thoroughly enjoy it!

The blurb: "Dok-go lives in Seoul Station. He can’t remember his past, and the only thing he knows for certain is that he could really use a drink. When he finds a lost wallet filled with documents, his life is drastically changed.

Mrs. Yeom, a retired history teacher and owner of her neighborhood’s corner store, is distraught over the loss of her purse, until she receives a mysterious call from the person who found it. To thank this down-on-his-luck stranger, she offers him a free meal from the convenience store. Seeing the joy the food brings him, Mrs. Yeom impulsively invites him to stop by for lunch every day.

In a twist of fate, Dok-go saves the store from a robber owner of a corner store takes in an unhoused man who does a good deed, a kind soul whose presence will transform the whole neighborhood—a heartwarming tale of community and redemption."

The author created fully dimensional characters that i grew to love, be interested in and followed their stories even though this story is slow to. medium paced compared to most American fiction. I'm used to watching J-dramas, so I enjoy how Japanese authors and screenwriters spend time in developing their characters. This is a feel good read and don't we all need a little more of that in our daily life? Highly recommended.

I'm so glad I was able to get early access to this great, cozy fiction novel. The story begins with Mrs. Yeom, a retired history teacher, who now owns a convenience store. She takes a homeless man (who has lost his memory) under her wing and gives him a job at her convenience store. Each chapter provides us with different perspectives of characters that are all interconnected. There is also a mystery element I was not expecting, but loved, as the past of this homeless man (who goes by Dok-go) is unknown. I thought this was such an interesting, thought-provoking novel, and I could even see a sequel to learn more about the different characters in the book and where they are now. This is a 5-star book to me, and I would recommend this to anyone!


*Thanks to Harper Perennial and Netgalley for my ARC of The Second Chance Convenience Store. All opinions expressed are my own.*

The premise of this book is what enticed me to request it and pick it up. The message it was trying to convey was kindness to all, and how people, no matter their background deserves second chances. I enjoy stories that have interconnectedness to them between multiple people. The ending was the best part of the book for sure because everything wrapped up quite nicely.

A lovely shorter story about the ripple effects of showing genuine kindness to others. It left me with a smile and a needed reminder that the world is full of good people striving to do their best.

Fantastic! Great short story about being kind.

Mrs. Yeom owns a convenience store. Through the course of events, she meets Dok-go, an unhoused man who helps her when she loses her purse. As payment for helping her, she allows him to get lunch every day. The story is about how this kindness changes many lives.

I enjoyed the storytelling and seeing how kindness can change lives.

Thanks to Harper Perennial and Netgalley for the ARC. Publication date for the US version is June 17, 2025.

I loved this beautiful story- it is not typical but tells a universal truth. I can't wait to read more from Kim Ho-Yeon

'The Second Chance Convenience Store" has a cozy, slice-of-life feel, and the translation to English is well written. Dok-go’s transformation is interesting, but overall, I had trouble connecting with the characters or finding much urgency in the plot. Some characters use foul language, which stands out against the otherwise wholesome tone. I didn’t finish the book, but I would recommend it to someone who enjoys Korean culture and short, charming stories.

Special thanks to the Publisher, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A wonderful feel good book! I was not expecting to get the POVs of multiple characters, so I was disoriented when we first switched from Mrs. Yeom to Sihyeon, but I caught on quickly. I enjoyed the overlapping of time and how we got to see multiple views of the same things happening. The story felt very authentically Korean—always a deadbeat son and a stressed out mother and alcoholism—and I could easily imagine the characters as people from my own life. I think the translation was very successful. The writing also felt poetic and metaphorical, most notably the chapter with Mrs. Oh and how she viewed men and dogs (and how Dokgo was able to change how she viewed men). I’m glad the story remained low stress even when things picked up at the end. It was fitting that way.

4.5/5 stars! a nice, short, feel good read!

This is the tale of how one person's kindness can change multiple people's lives. Multiple POVs as the characters interact with each other at the convenience store. A tale of compassion, shame, addiction, grief and forgiveness for self and others.

I really enjoyed The Secind Chance Convenience Store written by Kim Ho-yeon and translated by Janet Hong. Easy to read with straight forward prose, this is a story of kindness to strangers, responding to those in your community with acceptance, being willing to take a chance by offering grace to a stranger and seeing where that kind of living will take you.
The main character Dok-go is a large “bear” of a man who is homeless and can’t remember his past. He goes out of his way to help a stranger, Mrs.Yeom. To repay his kindness she takes a chance and offers him a job in the convenience store she owns. As customers and employees come and go through the store we get to know them as Dok-go interacts with them. Each person is dealing with the hand life has dealt them and Dok-go listens and offers advice and small kindnesses. Often it is just the thing that person needs. But it is a two way street: Dok-go is also changing as he begins to try and figure out his past and how he became homeless.
I really loved the feel of this story and the idea of a neighborhood convenience store where people enter as strangers but eventually leave as friends is heartwarming. Kindness to others can go such a long way. It’s often said we should be kind to strangers we meet for we never know what they are going through. This story embodies that with lovely results.

A gentle, heartfelt collection that quietly lingers.
I really enjoyed The Second Chance Convenience Store. This translated work weaves together a series of interconnected short stories, all centered around the quiet presence of the main character who, in his own way, touches the lives of everyone he meets. Each chapter adds depth, to the connections he makes.

The final chapter was especially powerful as it shifted the focus to him, allowing us to fully understand his perspective and the quiet ways he had been changed by those around him. What seemed like him helping others was also a path toward his own growth. By the end, it’s clear he’s the one who truly learns empathy and compassion.

Highly recommend for fans of character-driven fiction with a quiet emotional resonance.

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✨Book Review✨
The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon, translated by Janet Hong

𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆, 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇𝒇.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 is a heartwarming Korean bestseller about Dokgo, a homeless middle-aged man who has lost his memory to alcohol-related dementia. His good deed leads to unexpected kindness from Mrs. Yeom, a retired teacher. As he begins working at her corner store, he transforms the community, offering hope and connection—until his past resurfaces, threatening his newfound peace.

Reading this book felt like walking into a quiet, fluorescent-lit corner shop and unexpectedly finding a piece of your heart tucked between the shelves. It’s a quiet novel, but it spoke volumes to me—about regret, kindness, the power of memory and the strange, gentle ways life offers us redemption. It also shows us how in a complex, deeply interconnected world, a simple action can have much larger effects (The Butterfly Effect) and hereby telling us not to discount our small actions in our daily lives.

Through Dokgo's story who begins working at a neighborhood convenience store after hitting rock bottom, we get to meet a few troubled souls who are indirectly helped by Dokgo. I had expected this to be another novel with magical realism but I was proven wrong.

Kim crafts a narrative that is both deeply moving and refreshingly unpretentious. He shows us that how different lives can easily be altered even without magic, choosing instead to highlight how small acts of kindness and genuine human connections can lead to profound personal transformations.

His storytelling is understated but powerful. There’s no dramatic twist or emotional manipulation—just the quiet rhythm of a person finding their way back to themselves. It reminded me that sometimes, we don’t need grand solutions. We just need one person to believe in us. One chance. One ordinary job that turns out to be not so ordinary after all.

By the final chapter and as I closed the book, I sighed— not because the book isn't of any good, but because of the gentle accumulation of hope. This book is a soft landing for anyone who's ever felt like they’ve failed too many times or gone too far off track. It says, simply and sincerely: it’s not too late. And that gives me hope, especially during the most trying of days. 𝓜𝔂 𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you so much @harperperennial for gifting me this copy.

THE SECOND CHANCE CONVENIENCE STORE
RATING: 4
GENRE: Fiction

Oh cozy translated fiction, how you warm my heart. The Second Chance Convenience Store follows the story of a homeless man, Dok-go, who’s given ‘second chance’ after losing memories through alcohol-induced dementia. Told through different perspectives of those that Do-kgo encounters, he slowly learns to be reintegrated into society and begins to form human connections again.

The book, at first, seems to have characters would go on with their daily routine and unaffected by their surroundings. When Dok-go is introduced, it shakes up their world. He opens their minds to prospects that they never considered before and allows people to be their truest self. It’s a heartwarming story of how simple actions can alter your mindset. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and highly recommend to those who believe in second chances at life.

Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon is delightful! This is a heartwarming story of kindness. The owner of a corner store takes in an unexpected guest and his presence transforms the whole neighborhood. This book takes community to heart. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend everyone read this book!

In The Second Chance Convenience Store, a heartwarming novel from Korea, a down-on-his-luck man named Dok-go finds himself taken in by Mrs. Yeom, a retired teacher who owns a local convenience store. After a good deed and a twist of fate, he becomes a pillar of support for the quirky neighborhood community. But his past, shrouded in mystery, threatens to unravel the newfound joy he's brought to others. A moving tale of redemption, second chances, and the bonds that form when people come together.