Book Review - The Rainfall Market

By Simran Shoker

What if you could live the life of your dreams? Swap your current life for a better one? This is

what You Yeong-Gwang explores in his novel The Rainfall Market. Send a letter of your

misfortunes to the old, abandoned house in Rainbow Town. Receive a ticket, bring it to the

house on the first day of the rainy season. From there you will be granted entrance into the

Rainfall Market. Serin is a high school student who’s lonely and has no real prospects for a

future. Ever since her younger sister ran away and the passing of her father, she’s lived a lonely

life. When she surprisingly receives a ticket, her journey takes off to determine what her perfect

life will look like. There’s a catch though. Serin has only one week to find her happiness or else

she is doomed to vanish into the market forever.

This magical realism weaves together Korean myth and folklore, wit and mystery, magic and

adventure. Although a bit simplistic in language (could be because of the translation), I was

drawn in by the worldbuilding. You Yeong-Gwang does a great job at incorporating Korean

mythology through entertaining Dokkaebi characters, each with their own quirks and personas.

Though just to keep in mind, in this book the Dokkaebi look human but aren’t, yet from a

mythological standpoint they are more of supernatural goblins that are mischievous and like to

pull pranks. Although this didn’t falter my expectations or understandings in any way, just bear

in mind it is an interpretation of the myth that You Yeong-Gwang weaves into the story.

That being said, from the shy young Mata who ponders what he could steal from human hearts to

the elderly Popo who raises towering trees with the sweat and tears humans shed in pursuit of

their goals, it was interesting to see what kind of aspects of humanity Dokkaebi would take, as it

really formed their character and motivations. These subplots that Serin goes through to find the

orb that contains the life she wants kept me engaged, as its well-paced narrative touched upon

many themes of kindness, friendship, loyalty, courage, and hope and healing.

Although as mentioned before, I could see the target audience to also be younger readers as the

prose is more simplistic and straightforward than other adult fiction books, but I’d say this didn’t

necessarily detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.

Arriving at the gates of the market, Serin meets some of the other humans that seek a change in

their life. The way the market is set up allows those who come to place their life and troubles

into an Orb, go around the market to purchase a different Orb and fate, with the gold coins they

are given. We figure out pretty early on that Serin is a VIP guest, a holder of a rare Golden

Ticket.

“The holder of a Golden Ticket is entitled to possess multiple Dokkaebi Orbs, and is even

allowed to peer into each Orb to closely examine the life it offers….And unlike our other

customers, who must seek out these Orbs on their own, VIPs need only ask for the Orb they

desire, and they will be borne away to the shops of their choice by one of our complimentary

spirit creature.”

Even though it can be a bit repetitive, Serin’s attempts to dream of the life she wants are very

thought-provoking and hit close. Her first dream is to attend university yet realises the struggles

to “write appealing CVs and impress at interviews.” All it takes is seeing those first few lines of

a rejection email to realise how long this ordeal will be, and to question your own worth. Serin

then realises that’s not enough. She dreams of having a job. This orb depicts her working at a

strategic development office, but she is getting overworked with the crippling loans and debt

wearing on her. To not give away all of the story, Serin keeps coming to a stop when she sees

that the dreams she has will always have obstacles. Some kind of setback.

“Though she had been made up to perfection in the photo, the woman in real life wore no

makeup at all. She shrieked, ‘Are you mad? Look at this credit card bill! We can’t afford to

spend like this!”

These parts of the novel appear to be very episodic - I found myself reading a chapter/adventure

each day - as Serin roams around the market with a magical size-shifting cat.

The story nonetheless has very good lessons in the reality of adult life, and how there will always

be ups and downs, nothing will pave a perfect path for you. But it is through being with the ones

you love that ignites your purpose and will to keep going. Its twist at the end as well is a perfect

understanding of what life is.

Ultimately, this is a cozy fantasy that, through its whimsical and fun cast of characters, has a

fantastic message to appreciate the life you have.

About Simran Shoker: Simran Shoker (she/her) is a Communications student from Australia with a deep passion for storytelling. Her hobbies, including video games, reading, and sipping iced tea as she reflects on new ideas, fuel her creative process. Her work explores the transformative power of narratives and immersive worlds, inspiring her to experiment with diverse forms of expression, which are not limited to fiction, reviews, and articles. Eager to continue honing her craft, she is excited to share her voice and perspective with a wider audience as she grows in the world of writing.