South Korea Global Story Box

Bee-Bim-Bop! Linda Sue. Lee, Ho Baek, Ill. Clarion, 2005. ISBN: 9780618265114.
A young girl, eager for a favorite meal, helps her mother with shopping, food preparation, and table setting. Presented in rhyming verse with illustrations highlighting details of Korean homes. Bee-bim bop is a traditional Korean dish of rice with meat and vegetables.

The Green Frogs: A Korean Folktale Retold. Heo, Yumi. Houghton Mifflin, 1996. ISBN: 9780618432288.
Like rebellious children, the green frogs in this Korean folktale love to disobey their mother. Whatever she asks them to do, they do the opposite… until their bad habit lands them in trouble.

K is for Korea. Cheung, Hyechong. Das, Prodeepta, Photographer. Frances Lincoln, 2008. ISBN: 9781845077891.
A photographic introduction to Korea, featuring brief descriptions of people, places, customs, and other aspects of city and country life.

The King’s Secret: The Legend of King Sejong. Farley, Carol. Jew, Robert, Ill. Lee & Low, 2001. ISBN: 9780688127763.
Set in Korea in the mid-1400s, this tale takes place during the reign of real-life King Sejong, who is credited with the creation of Korea’s hangul alphabet. In this fictional account, the compassionate king is inspired to create a simple system of writing to replace the complex Chinese method after a young boy expresses a desire to learn to read and write.

Minji’s Salon. Choung, Eun-hee. Kane Miller, 2008. ISBN: 9781933605678.
When her mother goes to the beauty salon, Minji pretends to run a beauty salon of her own. Her dog is the first customer. One side of the page is Minji’s mother and the other side is Minji’s pretend salon. Translated from Hangul.

My First Book of Korean Words. Kudela, Katy. Captstone, 2011. ISBN: 9781429661652.
An introduction to Korean, featuring two-page color photographs, each on a different theme, with objects labeled in Hangul and English.

Something for School. Lee, Hyun Young. Kane Miller, 2008. ISBN: 9781933605852.
On the first day of kindergarten, a teacher asks the boys and girls to line up, and Yoon lines up with the other girls. But when some children mistake Yoon for a boy because of her short hair, Yoon decides to find a solution. She takes her sister’s red headband, which causes another problem. Translated from Hangul.

Sori’s Harvest Moon Day: A Story of Korea. Lee, Uk-Bae. Sound Prints, 1999. ISBN: 9781568996875.
Sori is excited about leaving the city and traveling to her grandmother’s village for the celebration of the harvest moon. Every year the whole family gathers together for the ancient traditions, including dancing at Pung-Mul, the folk festival. Sori’s grandmother prepares delicious food for the holiday, with fruit and freshly harvested rice. Sori falls asleep on the way home, dreaming of her grandmother and waiting for next year.

Waiting for Mama. Lee, Tae-Jun. Dong-Seong, Kim, Ill. North South, 2007. ISBN: 9780735821439.
This tale from Korea is universal–a small child waits for Mama at the station, asking the conductor if he has seen her. The conductor hasn’t, but cautions the child to wait a little farther from the tracks. It is cold and snowy but the child waits patiently until finally Mama comes. In the last wordless spread, we see the small hand in a mother’s firm clasp as they walk away. In English and Hangul.

While We Were Out. Lee, H. B. Kane/Miller, 2003. ISBN: 9781929132447.
An open patio door gives a pet rabbit a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore an apartment while the family’s away. She enjoys all the comforts of human life, including a well-stocked fridge, popcorn and a video, dressing up, a good book, toys to play with, and finally a snooze in a warm bed. The uninvited guest wakes in time to retreat to the terrace, closing the door, innocently hoping her little visit will remain undetected.