Mun, Juhee. The Healing Power of Korean Letter Writing. New York : Ten Speed Press. 2025. Print.
It's hard to find anyone who doesn't like letters. We feel a thrill when we receive them. One of their charms is that we can't see what's inside right away: there's an anticipation in unsealing the mysteries held within.
Description:
Sometimes we need a book that presents a reality that restores our faith in humankind. A world where people are friendly, curious, and good. A place where strangers seek to communicate in a kind manner, displaying their interest in the lives of others on a highly satisfying and very personal level.
Such a book is the delicate, wonderful The Healing Power of Korean Letter Writing, by Juhee Mun. Mun opened a small lettershop in Seoul in 2019 called "Geulwoll," which is "a native Korean word, a respectful term meaning 'letter'." In her shop she sells fine writing materials from high end pens and variety of luscious papers to envelopes, stamps and books about writing.
But most importantly what Geulwoll provides the public are letter-writing spaces for people to sit down and actually compose letters. Customers purchase products and often remain in the shop to create letters.For me, that's an amazingly comforting sight to imagine.
The shop owner/author also is fascinated by her customers and describes her experiences watching and helping them. She writes about her own personal preferences as well, including her best places to write, best times, best opening lines, drafts, endings, and even replies. Here are a few samples of what Mun observes in her shop and life:
- That which takes longer to arrive stays longer in the heart. I think that is why we turn to letters when we want people to remember us;
- I believe that letter writing is an act of storytelling;
- Letters have the power to remind us of the people who've made us who we are today.
- Respite from loneliness, however brief, isn't found in the grand or the extravagant, but in the little, simple things -- a pleasant autumn breeze, a sweet dessert, or a letter just for me. Within simplicity we find serenity, and though the moment may be fleeting, our hearts grow peaceful for a while.
- When there's something I can't speak out loud, I can still write, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel to do so. Thus I try not to package up the letter solely as something beautiful; otherwise, it's impossible to be authentic as I sit before a blank sheet of paper.
There is also some charming advice that any correspondents might find useful, from selecting stamps to choosing the correct slot in a Korean mailbox, from using a post office itself to delivering the letter by hand.
The shop also has an anonymous Pen Pal area where people may drop off letters into a box about their lives, questions, problems, etc. They then may select another anonymous letter to simply read or possibly begin corresponding with that stranger via the shopkeeper as go-between to preserve anonymity.
For a few short hours, I found myself dreamily envisioning myself in Geulwoll, carefully perusing writing papers and even expensive pens for the first time, then settling down in a quiet corner to write to my wife, son, and a few other special people in my life. It's a magical image for me, one that flows throughout this brief book. Maybe it will transport you to that small Korean letter-writing shop as well.
[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]
Youngson, Anne. Meet Me At the Museum
Simply a wonderful book about two people corresponding from half a world apart. The gentleness and affection for their worlds and eventually each other is transporting. It's the best. (Previously reviewed here.)
Happy reading.
Fred
[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]
