We are currently unable to process orders for destinations within the EU, due to changes in tariffs. Please contact books@lrbshop.co.uk for further advice

Yeonnam-dong's Smiley Laundromat

Jiyun Kim

£10.99

We send all orders via Royal Mail: within the UK, choose from 1st Class, 2nd Class or Special Delivery; for the rest of the world, International Standard or International Tracked. Delivery and packaging charges are calculated automatically at the checkout.

To collect orders in person from the Bookshop, choose Click and Collect at the checkout.


Quercus Publishing
19 June 2025
ISBN: 9781529437423
Paperback
320 pages

From the publisher

*THE HEARTWARMING KOREAN BESTSELLER*

*A new book from Shanna Tan, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop*

Situated at the heart of a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, the Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold.


It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd.

But there is more to the diary than first appears, and before long the laundromat's regulars are teaming up to solve a mystery and help the notebook's former owner find peace.

A heartwarming, healing debut that instantly captured the hearts of Korean readers, this is a novel about the preciousness of human relationships and the power of solidarity in a world that is increasingly cold, fast-paced and virtual.

Readers love this cosy, slice-of-life K-drama:

"Talk to someone. Help someone. Do a good deed. If this book doesn't inspire you, nothing will. A true testament to the power of books."

"This is a wonderfully comforting read, and one that makes you truly believe in the goodness of others"

"Very similar to Before The Coffee Gets Cold or The Kamogawa Food Detectives. So if that's your vibe, you'll enjoy this one too!"

Translated from the Korean by Shanna Tan