VOL.77/2024.12

 

Hyehwa1117

One-woman publishing company that makes books with a distinctive identity

 

2024.11.04

 

When something you love and are good at is fused with like-minded people, it can create a massive butterfly effect. This is the case with Hyehwa1117, a one-woman publishing house that, despite its small size, is making a meaningful impact on the Korean publishing industry. Founded by Lee Hyun-Hwa, who has had a long-standing dream of publishing, Hyehwa1117 has been making books and building up a connection over time after an encounter with a hanok built a long time ago. We are looking forward to seeing what Hyehwa1117 will achieve in the publishing industry in the future, as it says that its books are not the “product of any plan, but the result of making connections.”

 

 

It’s a pleasure to have you with us on K-Book Trends. Please introduce Hyehwa1117 to our international readers along with the meaning of the company’s name.

 

Hello, everyone. Hyehwa1117 is a publishing house in Hyehwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, that was born out of a personal connection with an old hanok built in 1936. To capture the meaning of that connection, I named the company by combining the name of the neighborhood and the number of the address. I also liked the word “hyehwa” for its Korean pronunciation and the beautiful shape of the letters.

 

You said you were inspired to start a publishing company as you bought and renovated an old hanok. What was the connection between renovating the hanok and starting a publishing company?

 

Working as an editor since 1994, I started to plan my retirement around 2008. One of the things I thought about then was opening a bookstore. My dream was to save money, find a small space in the next 10 years, and open a bookstore there. After searching for a good neighborhood in which to open a bookstore, I stumbled upon an old hanok deep in an alley in 2017, and I fell in love with it at first sight. But, it wasn’t the right kind of place for a bookstore. So, it was kind of spontaneous, but I thought, “I could renovate this place and start a publishing house.” That’s how it started. I had been dreaming of opening a bookstore for a very long time, but after meeting this house, I unexpectedly became a publisher. I launched a publishing house in 2018 thinking, “It’s really hard to predict the future” - and I still think so even today.

 

 

And that hanok was introduced in It’s Becoming My Home. Could you please introduce us to the book?

 

Fixing up a very old house meant something special to me. I thought, “Living in a house that’s been in the same place for more than 80 years is like continuing one’s life by adding to the invisible time that’s accumulated in that space.” I also thought, “Maybe this house truly becomes my home through living in and with it, not just by paying for it.” I kept a written and photographic record of the process - from my first encounter with the house to fixing it up and moving out - because I wanted to preserve the moments when the house crossed time from before I lived there to after. I wrote the text, and photographer Hwang Woo-Seob, who is also my longtime friend, captured the important moments of fixing up the house as if he were filming a documentary.
Another reason for the book is that I wanted to share with readers the idea that a house is not just an item to be bought and sold, but a space that forms an organic relationship with the lives of the people who live there.

 

 

Hyehwa1117 has been publishing an extensive collection of books in the arts, culture, and history connecting them to Korean cultural elements. Is there a particular reason for such focus?

 

Rather than having a specific reason, I think it was something that came as a result of connections. While working as an editor, I was able to make new books with authors I was close to, and as those books received a lot of love from readers, I continued to make the following books of the same authors. And, as I kept making books in the same field, I got to make new connections with other authors who were publishing books in similar fields, which led me to make more and more books in the same field. Hyehwa1117’s list of published books is not the result of any plan, but rather the result of many relationships.

 

You are an editor, a writer, and a one-woman publisher. It’s like having 3 different jobs at once. What are some of the challenges and perks of running a one-woman publishing house?

 

Well, I can use my time freely, don’t have to work with people I don’t like, and can take control of everything from start to finish – there are more advantages than disadvantages. There might be some disadvantages that you would normally think of, like “what will the future of publishing be like,” or “it’s lonely working alone,” but those are the kinds of worries that you have to live with anyway even when you are working at an office, so I wouldn’t say that they are particularly the bad parts of running a one-person publishing house. But, one thing is for sure – if anyone asks me whether I would go back to working for a company, I would immediately say “NO” even before the question ends.

 

 

I always think about how I can make better books and show them to my readers.

 

 

You have recently organized a group of one-woman publishers (Park Sook-Hee - head of Memento Publishing, Choi Ji-Young - head of Editorial Publishing, Park Hee-Sun - head of Kinds Book, and Jeon Eun-Jung - head of Moksu Books) under the name of “Publishing Sisters,” and have been exhibiting the possibility of “publishing solidarity” in the Korean publishing market through various activities. How did you start the group, and what kind of activities are you doing?

 

I have long known the people in the group “Publishing Sisters.” We hadn’t been able to see each other for a long time due to COVID-19, but when social distancing eased up a bit, we decided to organize a once-a-month gathering that walks around Seoul. There are many great places to walk in Seoul, including its mountains and rivers. We met once a month and walked together for a few hours, hoping to continue this job for a long time while staying healthy. We didn’t just walk, but we also chatted, ate delicious food, and talked about various things - and then we came up with the idea of participating in the Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) together.
We received overwhelming attention from all sides. Many people actually came to our booth after seeing the article, and told us that they felt encouraged and empowered. Our book, The Sisters’ Power to Keep Going, which is a collection of articles we wrote for the fair, was also a hit. We continued to meet with readers through book talks at several bookstores even after the fair ended, and we have been enjoying ourselves through the medium of books, such as organizing a joint exhibition with five publishers. We are also excited to do a more advanced project next year together - but it’s a secret at the moment!

 

 

You have published both books that might be more familiar to foreigners, such as England Meets Joseon a Hundred Years Ago, Exploring European Bookstore Culture, and Dilkusya: The Old House of Westerners Living in Gyeongseong, as well as books that are very Korean in nature, such as Joseon Seen Through Old Pictures (3 volumes in total) and Gyeongseong Department Store Merchandise Catalog, which pique the curiosity of foreign readers. If you were to introduce Hyehwa1117’s books to foreign readers, what would be your approach?

 

Hyehwa1117 mainly publishes books by Korean authors, especially those who have been studying or researching in a specific field for a long time. When we publish a book, we first look at how ingenious the author’s achievements are, how long they have been studying, or how broadly and in-depth they cover the topic. This is because we want the book to be exclusive in its field. Then, we work hard to make a book that those who are interested in the same field as our books can’t help but read our books. If international readers are interested in a topic and are looking for a Korean book on it, they might want to check Hyehwa1117 first to see if there is a book in that field. And, if you do find a book in that field, please don’t hesitate to check it out.

 

 

Apart from the books mentioned above, could you please introduce any of the books published by Hyehwa1117 that have been particularly well-received by readers, or those that you personally care about?

 

I often say that there are two pillars of Hyehwa1117. One is Mr. Choi Yeol. He is one of Korea’s leading art historians, and with him, I published Seoul Seen Through Old Pictures, Jeju Seen Through Old Pictures, Joseon Seen Through Old Pictures (3 volumes in total), and Lee Jung-Seob: Drawings on Letters.
The other is Dr. Robert J. Fouser. A linguist, Dr. Robert Fouser is a white male and American, but he communicates and writes in Korean. Since publishing his first book with Hyehwa1117, The Spread of Foreign Languages, he has released more books, including Learning Foreign Languages, How to Read Cities, and Why Do Cities Preserve History?
We hear most of the compliments about Hyehwa1117’s books from these two authors. They are the authors and books that not only make us proud as a publishing company, but also contribute a large portion of our revenue, helping us stabilize our company. The books that were published a few years ago are still being read by readers, and they are also playing a big role in creating momentum for new books. If I had to name the signature author, or signature book, of Hyehwa1117, I would gladly name these two.

 

 

You have been making a concerted effort to expand opportunities to engage with your readers, such as running programs in collaboration with libraries, booksellers, and authors. What kind of outcomes do you think these efforts are producing?

 

Hyehwa1117 has been publishing several books by the same author. So, there is often a continuous connection with readers. I try to arrange many events where authors and readers can meet at places like libraries and bookstores, and there, I also get to have close contact with readers. It’s like having a very specific, very real audience, not just some conceptual, vague, collective image of “readers.” Once you have that, you get to think about each and every one of them - not the vague, indistinct audience - when you are sitting at your desk making a book. Then it becomes very hard to be dishonest in your work, and instead, you want to make better books for them all the time. Interacting with my readers is something that keeps me strong and steady in my attitude and heart towards my work.

 

As a forward-thinking and challenging one-woman publisher, please tell us about the direction and goals you would like to pursue in the future.

 

It’s been 7 years since Hyehwa1117 was founded. There have often been moments where I thought, “This is the best moment ever,” but over time, I have experienced even better moments; I hope that will continue to be the case, and I am excited about the days ahead of me. At the moment, my biggest interest is how the book, Joseon’s Royal Documentary Painting: Extraordinary Moments of the Royal Family of the Joseon Dynasty Captured in Old Paintings, which I will produce before the year is out, will be received by readers. Making a comprehensive compilation of documentary paintings from the Joseon Dynasty and releasing it to the world smoothly is the biggest and most important goal right now. The goal for the future is, of course, making good books which we are already doing – that’s all.

 

 

---