London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Korean bookshop in New Malden

Book Village sign

Thanks to David Gomez for writing in with an answer to a question which lots of people have asked: where to buy Korean books in London. Not books about Korea, not books about how to learn Korean, but books written in Korean.

My standard answer is that I haven’t the foggiest idea, but that if you’re lucky you can get a children’s book or two in Grant & Cutler.

Undaunted, David did his own research, and discovered Book Village (책 마을) at 115B Burlington Road, New Malden, KT3 4LR, tel 0208 336 5916 [Map]. It’s right above a food store.

Book Village - exterior

It’s a snug little room, lined with more books than you can possibly imagine, with a couple of sofas. Kim Hye Sun (below) will make you a cup of tea while you browse.

Book Village interior - with Ms Kim
Not being a Korean speaker it’s hard for me to tell the quality of the literature for sale, but there seemed to be rather a lot of manhwa.

I’m told that the shop rents books out as well as sells them.

Ring in advance to check the opening hours. It was open till 9pm on the Friday I visited.

Book Village interior

20 thoughts on “Korean bookshop in New Malden

  1. We as Korean language student like to make a trip down there to feel about Korean culture and glance the Korean books but feel obliged to email them in advance. Anyone does happen to have their email address. Urgent, please reply soon.

  2. If her business card had an email address I think I would have put it in the article above (and unfortunately I don’t have the card any more). Plus from recollection I don’t think she could speak English very well, so sending her an email in English probably won’t get a response.

    Maybe get a Korean friend to give them a bell?

  3. hi there, i’ve noticed that this website seems to have a lot of info about New Malden, where there is a community of South Korean. I was wondering what type of things they have there ><"

    i know there are: supermarkets, salons, bookstores, restaurants/cafes – but i was wondering if there were any korean fashion stores there?

    thank you!

  4. Went to London today (Wed 12th June 2013)with the intention to visit only to find the
    place has shut down after going bankrupt a few years ago,surprised nobody knew about that before,so if that WAS the only Korean Bookshop in London I don’t know what you’ll do now.

  5. Dear Philip
    I was wondering if you knew of any other Korean bookshops in London or shops
    that may sell travel books in the Korean language? I notice there’s no London souvenir
    guide book in Korean among other noticeable absent languages (surprising that Bonechi
    does not include Korean among other languages : ie Dutch , Arabic for their LONDON
    souvenir guide),did that Korean Bookshop sell travel guides in Korean?

    We have a Japanese Bookshop along Regent Street which sells almost everything you
    could want but feel that a Korean Bookshop in London would be beneficial.

  6. Hi,
    I’m London based and I’d love to get hold of a Korean novel by Kyung Suk Shin, called 어디선가 나를 찾는 전화벨이 울리고. It will be published in 2015 under the English title ‘I’ll be right there’. 2 years is too long to wait so I want to try and read it in Korean now.

    Suzanne

    1. Oh, thanks, Paul. I will check it out next time I am north of the river. In the meantime, I ordered it from hanbooks.com. I now have a copy and it will probably take me 2 years to work through! It’s my mid-life challenge – my equivalent of scaling Everest.

  7. hello
    do you know where I can get a copy of active korean 1 quickly?

    Online it seems to take forever

    is there a book store in london that would have one?

    many thanks for your help

    carlton edwards

  8. Hi,
    in 2021, do someone now if there is a bookshop around London ?

    If not, do you have address to order korean book (in hangeul) in the UK ?

    Thanks in advance 😉

    Lumi

  9. Is it still open? I live out of London and it is a long journey for me. Don’t want to be disappointed.

    Thank you.

    1. Last time I was in the area I think I concluded it was closed for good. Best leave a message in the LKL Facebook group to be sure. Nowadays I’d probably go to Foyles, where they have some Korean texts to browse – but not as many as the New Malden place used to have.

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