[Latest Read] Invitation to 'Dallergut Dream Department Store,' where dreams are for sale

We all have that experience of waking up from a delightful dream, only to find it slipping away after a few hours, or suddenly waking up in a cold sweat from a nightmare.

What if there was a store where dreams could be bought? Which would you buy?

Enter a mysterious shopping village that you can only visit when asleep. And here at Dallergut Dream Department Store, dreams are for sale. Day and night, visitors shuffle in to purchase their latest adventures. Each floor specializes in a specific type of dream: childhood memories, culinary fantasies, ice skating, visions of stardom. Flying dreams are almost always sold out.

In the fantasy novel “Dallergut Dream Department Store,” author Lee Mi-ye takes readers on a thrilling, fantastical ride into the business of the dream industry.

The English edition of the runaway bestseller in Korea with over a million copies sold was translated by Sandy Joosun Lee and released last Tuesday in the US. It hit the UK bookshelves in November 2023. It has been translated into 15 languages including French, German, Spanish and Italian.

“People often consider sleeping a waste of time, especially when they are deeply focused on something in real life. But adequate sleep is essential for our brains, and I wanted to add another good reason why humans spend a third of our lives asleep,” said Lee in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “The idea of offering pleasant dreams to people struck me as romantic, and I wanted to share my imagination with readers.”

The story follows Penny, an enthusiastic new hire working at Dallergut. As she uncovers the mysteries of this whimsical world, she bonds with a charming cast of characters, including the flamboyant and wise owner Dallergut, the famous dream designer Babynap Rockabye, nightmare producer Maxim and many customers who dream to heal, grow and flourish.

Lee said it took a decade after she decided to write something about her dreams, imagining all kinds of ideas, jotting down ideas, brainstorming various scenarios and going through many drafts.

“The actual writing (of volumes 1 and 2) took about a year and six months. But over the course of 10 years, little by little, thoughts and ideas were gathered to create this dream industry,” said Lee.

When she needed ideas, she recorded her dreams every morning. In fact, some episodes in the story are directly drawn from her actual experiences. The second chapter “Dating Guidelines of the Night” is adapted from her own dates with her now-husband. The part in “Trauma Refund Request” where someone dreams about taking an exam is almost exactly how she experienced it -- the panic and all.

“When you write them down, you remember the dreams more vividly. I don’t write them down anymore, so they fade away really quickly nowadays, which makes me think I should start recording them again," she said.

Unprecedented rise to literary stardom

Lee’s path to becoming an author was as magical as her novel. An engineering major, she worked for nearly five years as a semiconductor engineer at Samsung Electronics before taking a leap of faith to pursue writing.

“There wasn’t a clear reason to quit but I was consumed by the thought that it is difficult to write while working. In hindsight, it was a rash decision driven by the impatience of my 20s,” said the 34-year-old writer. “I very often regretted my choice. I felt like I was wandering aimlessly.”

Lee described that period of her life as uncertainty itself. She juggled various part-time jobs, attended graduate school and started her own 3D printing business. To her surprise, Lee found having a new job made her writing more enjoyable again.

So she began writing, crowdfunded her first book, and published it independently in October 2019. She then signed on with a publisher who released it as an e-book in April 2020 and as a book three months later. The book quickly became an instant bestseller (not counting e-book sales), breaking many records. It was the first book to sell 1 million copies since 2020, reaching the milestone in just 16 months -- the shortest period in Korean literature. The previous record was held by Cho Nam-ju’s “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982.”

“I didn't expect it at all. Completing the book was more of a personal dream, and everything else was beyond my imagination.”

Despite her enormous success, Lee said she is still grappling with her identity as a writer.

"Yes, I have published a few books, but aside from that, I’m not sure if I could be a sustainable writer,” she said. “Still, when I see a well-written story, my heart flutters. When an idea comes to mind, my steps become lighter. I guess storytelling is an intrinsic part of me.”

The sequel “Return to the Dallergut Dream Department Store” is slated for release in November, continuing Penny’s adventures. She discovers the Civil Complaint Center, where people file complaints, delving deeper into the dream industry and its customers.

Lee has recently released the novella “Office Pantry.” She is working on her next full-length novel.

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In this series, The Korea Herald introduces Korean literature through translated works, offering interviews with authors or translators as well as reviews, inviting readers to explore the vibrant literary landscape of Korea. -- Ed.

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"Dallergut Dream Department Store"

written by Lee Mi-ye, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee

Wildfire, November 2023 (UK)

Hanover Square Press, July 2024 (US)