Publication Date: January 21, 2025
If you could swap your life for a better one, which would you choose?
On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the rainy season, you’ll be granted entrance into the mysterious Rainfall Market—where you can choose to completely change your life.
No one is more surprised than Serin when she receives a ticket. Lonely and with no real prospects for a future, Serin ventures to the market, determined to create a better life for herself.
There, she meets a magical cat companion named Issha and they search through bookstores, perfumeries, and fantastical realms while Serin tries to determine what her perfect life will look like.
The catch? Serin only has one week to find her happiness or be doomed to vanish into the market forever.
And all the while, a shadow follows quietly behind them…
A Korean girl desperate to escape her dreary life uses her story of misfortune to earn a ticket to a place called Rainbow Town. With that ticket, she would gain entrance on the first day of the rainy season and have an opportunity to change her life.
Author You Yeong-Gwang takes readers on a captivating journey in The Rainfall Market. Impoverished and unable to purchase a school uniform, young Serin pours her troubles into a heartfelt letter. When she receives the ticket, she ponders her good fortune. What ensues is similar to Alice visiting Wonderland.
The Rainfall Market is operated by beings known as Dokkaebi. As Serin enters this strange world, her hope is to change her life. Joining other ticket holders, the group is instructed to visit the various stores within the Rainfall Market and use gold coins earned from sharing their misfortune to purchase a Dokkaebi Orb. That Orb contains the extraordinary life wished for by the human.
It’s important to note that while this might seem like a fantasy-type story, it is packed with essential life lessons. As Serin shops around, she realizes that her dreams of a perfect future come with drawbacks. She gets caught up in a mystery that threatens to rob her of any chance of a future. With a shapeshifting cat and an eclectic cast of characters, this beautiful story offers a cautionary tale.
The Rainfall Market offers a spark of hope in a world of darkness, illustrating contentment can be found even amongst challenges.
Yeong-Gwang You was born in Seongnam in 1984. He wrote this story during breaks while delivering food for a living. He felt truly happy while writing this story and wishes for all readers to find healing and courage through it so that they may go out and find their own happiness.
