A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang

Brought to you by Penguin.

By buying sweets from the Hwawoldang, you get yourself a ticket to a new life . . .

Welcome to the Hwawoldang, a traditional sweetshop where every bite comes with satisfaction for both the mouth and the soul . . .

When twenty-seven-year-old Yeon-hwa loses her grandmother, enigmatic and distant proprietor of the Hwawoldang, she decides to respect her wishes by keeping the store going for at least another month, between the hours of 10pm and midnight. She has never learnt to make the traditional desserts herself, and hopes to learn more about her grandmother in the process.

On her very first day at work, she is soon interrupted by one of her grandmother’s most regular visitors, who hints that Hwawoldang is no ordinary pastry shop, and its customers not entirely alive…

With each new face that arrives at the store, Yeon-hwa is taken into their memories – but will this bring her the closure she craves, and continue her grandmother’s legacy of aiding those left in the land of the living?

Evocative, nourishing and cosy, A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang shows that even the most lost souls will find a place to call home.

© Lee Onhwa 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025