In the fall of 2024, I lived in Seoul for a month. Near the end of my stay, I stepped into the independent bookstore " 별책부록２９ " at the foot of Namsan Mountain. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be one of the best gains of that trip to Seoul.
I don’t know if you have ever had that experience, when you walk into a bookstore, you suddenly feel a sense of destiny, as if you have been there in a certain time and space, and it feels very familiar and you like it. Longshan’s "Supplement" gives me that feeling of familiarity and peace of mind.
An inconspicuous but bright little bookstore
"Supplementary Booklet" stands at the foot of Namsan Mountain. It only takes about ten minutes to walk down from the nearest popular tourist spots, Itaewon Jiefang Village and Shinshin Market. It is a place that is very suitable for a special visit when walking in Yongsan. For travelers, the distance is not too burdensome, and for book lovers, such a distance is extremely sweet.
The bookstore has been open for about ten years. The books on display in the store are mainly in the categories of design, photography and lifestyle. In fact, it is not difficult to feel that this is a small bookstore with a strong sense of life as soon as you enter the bookstore. Even the location of the bookstore is very integrated into the local life. There are old single-family houses on both sides. There is no big sign at the door. There are only four words "별책부록" written on the glass of the door, quietly greeting every reader who comes.
I first stepped into this place in the fall of 2024 because I decided to go to Namsan on a whim that day, and then walked slowly down the mountain. Following the impression in my memory, I found this small bookstore. As soon as I walked into the bookstore, I was attracted by the white and translucent style of the store. In the yellow autumn, the white "별책부록" seemed to catch the tail of summer.
When I was lingering in a bookcase, I accidentally caught a glimpse of an illustrated book in the low cabinet below, called "흔한날" (tentative translation: Ordinary Days) . Almost at the first moment, I decided to buy this lovely picture book, because for me who was living in Seoul at the time, every ordinary day in Seoul was special, just as the author of the book recorded, every day is ordinary, but also extraordinary.
Friendly bookstore owner who speaks fluent Chinese
The second time I visited the "Special Book Appendix" was in the spring of 2025. After the cold winter, I pushed open the glass door of the "Special Book Appendix" again. Interestingly, this time I bought the second book in the same corner of the low cabinet, on the shelf where I bought the first book. The title of the book is "한라산에갈볼까?" (Tentative translation: Do you want to go to Halla Mountain for a walk?)
Maybe it’s because I grew up by the sea, or because I grew up in Taiwan, which is also an island, but I always have an indescribable yearning for Jeju Island. I feel like there are memories of youth from another parallel time and space there, or maybe even in the busy and anxious daily life, Jeju Island always exudes a sense of leisure and happiness. So every time I talk about Jeju Island, even if I have never been there, I will still smile, and my mood will immediately bloom with a brilliant glow. So when I visited the "Supplement" for the second time, I bought this book about Jeju Island.
The owner of "Supplement" is a young man who studied in Beijing for many years, so he is fluent in Chinese. Therefore, if you have any questions or need the owner to recommend a list of books, the owner will be very enthusiastic to help. Writing here, I suddenly remembered that when I first visited, I wanted to practice speaking Korean, so I habitually kept speaking Korean to the owner, but the owner kept answering me in Chinese. Thinking back to that scene now, it is still quite funny.
At that time, the boss told me that he was planning to open a cafe next to the bookstore. This was really exciting news because the theme country of this year's Seoul Book Fair is Taiwan, and the exhibition of the Taiwan Pavilion is titled "Taiwanese Sensibility (대만감성)". If you have friends who plan to go to this year's Seoul Book Fair, you might as well plan a few special independent bookstores into your trip. I believe it will add a lot of color to the trip. For me, every book, every person I meet in the bookstore, and even a cup of "Bessatsu Appendix" coffee that I will soon have (laughs), will be a very special memory.
Although I have been to Seoul many, many times (laughing), every time I land at Incheon (or Gimpo) Airport, my mood is still sunny. In the 32nd episode of Pei Ru's podcast "Passionate Korean Peninsula", "Ten Years of Islanders' Corner Scenery, Never Want to Be Familiar "Jeju, Good Days", I seem to have found the answer. Seoul is my spiritual hometown. Therefore, whether I land happily or with injuries, this city can always heal me well, and one of the places that heal me is the independent bookstore "Supplement".
This is an independent bookstore that I like very much. Although it is small, it is very good. It is the "별책부록 Special Volume Appendix". I would like to introduce it to you:)
