“I hope the ‘We’ll Buy You a Book Project’ helps teenagers realize that there are adults who respect and trust their choices.”

In front of the independent bookstore “Chaekbang, Anne” in Sanam-dong, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, a sign is posted on the first day of every month that reads, “Adults have prepaid for books. Come pick one up.” The number of remaining books is marked daily with Post-it notes.

Run by bookstore owner Lee Ji-young, 51, Chaekbang, Anne is a small shop with about 700 books. The act of sharing that began here has now spread across the country. When adults prepay for books, teenagers can each take one book within the prepaid amount. It is called the “We’ll Buy You a Book Project for Teens.”

The idea began with a simple conversation between Lee and a regular customer. “I told her that many teenagers don’t have time to read because of schoolwork, and that I envied other bookstores that sometimes ran prepaid sharing events,” Lee recalled. The customer immediately volunteered, saying, “Then I’ll go first,” and began sponsoring the cost of three books each month.

The first “three free books” event began on February 1. But it took nearly two weeks before all three were gone. “Even with the notice outside, many teens hesitated to come in,” Lee said on November 3. “Those who finally took a book kept asking, ‘Is it really free?’”

Lee shared the project on social media, and word spread organically. Soon, neighbors and customers began contributing, and more students started visiting the shop.

Kim Hana, 39, who prepaid 50,000 won, said, “I wanted more young people to experience the joy of receiving a book, so I joined in. I plan to prepay again on special occasions, like Christmas, as a gift to teens.”

What began with just three books has now grown to about 30 each month. The only rule for the 14- to 19-year-olds who take part is simple: come alone and choose freely.

“I wanted them to have the experience of discovering their own taste, without interference from parents or anyone else, and even to learn from making the wrong choice,” Lee explained.

Teenagers have responded enthusiastically. Oh Sang-woo, 15, a second-year student at Sanam Middle School, picked Émile Ajar’s “The Life Before Us.” He said, “I saw a post on social media that our neighborhood bookstore was giving away free books,” adding, “It felt like such a great opportunity that I ran over right away. Choosing a book by myself without my parents was a special experience.”

The project has now expanded beyond Cheongju. Inspired by Lee’s story, bookstores in other regions have reached out to learn how to launch similar efforts.

“More than 15 independent bookstores nationwide, in Busan, Incheon, Hwasun, Cheonan, and elsewhere, are now running their own versions,” Lee said. “In some cases, writers are sponsoring their favorite bookstores to help get the projects started.”

The project has also breathed new life into small neighborhood bookstores struggling with declining sales. As teenagers, many first-time visitors, keep coming through the door, the stores’ atmospheres have brightened, Lee said.

“I dream of a virtuous circle,” she added, “where the kids who receive books here grow up to become adults who share that same kindness with others.”