A hole-in-the-wall store filled with happy childhood memories
Artist Im Kyung-i, who has been traveling around the country for over 20 years to find small shops and put her drawings into pen and ink.
A book of warm and touching illustrations and text!

The days when holding a single coin would make my heart swell, the times when I would run to the store and choose a snack as if making the most difficult decision in the world, the hole-in-the-wall store where the streetlights would shine brightly even after the sun went down and the children's voices would not die down.
Artist Im Kyung-mi has been searching through alleyways to find the hole-in-the-wall shops that have been disappearing for some time and has captured them on canvas.
Just looking at the 80 or so carefully selected works from the 200 or so Hole-in-the-Wall Shop pieces created over the past 20 years, along with the artist's own writings, will convey warm memories, comfort in life, and deep emotions.


Artist Im Kyung-i, who has been capturing hole-in-the-wall shops on canvas for 20 years,
Pictures and text delicately expressed with a warm gaze

Artist Im Kyung-mi, who has been capturing small, old shops across the country with a warm and lyrical sensibility for 20 years, sets out on a journey to visit small, old shops all over the country in spring, summer, fall, and winter, filled with affection and sorrow for the precious things that are disappearing.
And as if by fate, I carefully captured the appearance and story of a hidden gem-like hole-in-the-wall shop I came across on the street with the heart of a painter and recorder.
His hole-in-the-wall shop paintings, which are expressed with a warm gaze toward the world, have been invited to various galleries, art museums, and art fairs, and are loved by many for their touching and comforting effects.
To commemorate 20 years of working on hole-in-the-wall shops, artist Im Ji-kyung has carefully selected over 80 of the hundreds of her hole-in-the-wall shop creations and compiled them into a highly collectible book, along with the artist's stories about the shops.


Detailed pen drawings drawn with care, stitch by stitch, as if embroidering
The profound resonance of this honest and candid story about a hole-in-the-wall shop.

Artist Im Ji-kyung began drawing with a pencil after becoming pregnant, fearing that the smell of oil paints might be bad for the baby in her womb. She fell in love with the charm of drawing with a pencil and has been drawing small shops with delicate pen drawings for 20 years.
The lines and surfaces created by the thin pen lines connecting and overlapping, as well as the mysterious colors and shades, are truly admirable the more you look at them.
The gentle expression of an old, small, hole-in-the-wall shop that has been in the same place for a long time, bearing the stories of countless people and the traces of time, comes to life vividly in the author's pen.
The author's honest and candid writing, which unfolds stories of his childhood, his work in hole-in-the-wall shops, and his experiences, harmoniously blends with the illustrations to convey a deep resonance.
His gaze toward small but valuable things is not simply a longing for the past, but has the power to make us look back on the things close to us today.

When I first drew the hole-in-the-wall shop, I was captivated by the subtle beauty of the old, worn, and unassuming-looking shop.
I was curious about the life of the owner who had lived with determination in the same place for over 40 years.
But gradually time passes
As time went by, it was sad to see that those hole-in-the-wall shops would no longer be passed down.
I hope that the old man who runs the hole-in-the-wall shop will live a long and healthy life.
I hoped that if I could record it before it completely disappears from our side, it would remain in my paintings.

---From the "Prologue"

Even as the sun set and the neighborhood grew dark, the area in front of the store was brightly lit by streetlights from electric poles, turning it into a lively playground where children who had just finished dinner would gather one by one and play.
It was the best playground where people could run around freely, play hide-and-seek, and eat Dalgona while putting their heads together.
My fondest childhood memories are hidden in a hole-in-the-wall shop.
---From "I like the night under the lamp"

The items on the shelves, piled high, made me wonder, 'What's inside?'
The old woman's eyes, looking into the distance, seemed to have a keen insight into life, whether they were directed toward the rice paddy ridges beyond the window or simply counting the time beyond the sky.
I came home, waited for the kids to fall asleep, and then started drawing the store.
My heart was pounding, I was excited and happy.
That's how my relationship with the hole-in-the-wall store began.
---From "The Hole-in-the-wall Shop in Toechon Gwaneum-ri"

The plain appears frequently in my paintings.
Normal is to sit together.
And there is a place for everyone to sit.
You can sit in groups, sit in a circle, or lie down.
Since no one's seat is assigned, I can't say anything if someone else sits where I sat yesterday.
It is also a flexible position that can be used flexibly, whether there are many people or few.
It's not awkward to sit with strangers.
The ordinary is a place for sharing.
There is a table in front of the store.

---From "Ordinary Season"

To the left of the store, two large trees stand, and to the right of the mountain behind, a rock protrudes, forming a strange harmony with the small stone shop.
He said that the main customers were hikers climbing Seokchisan Mountain.
The old man opened a shop here in his forties, and as he laughed and said that 40 years had already passed, his pale face seemed fresh for a moment.
The owner and customers mingle in the store, filling each day with each other, and as time passes, memories accumulate.
Those memories give rise to many stories.
I couldn't turn away for a long time because I was curious about the story and circumstances I had never heard before.

---From "Seokchi Sanghoe"