- Overview
-
This third volume of Hyeon Gileon’s series of history books for children is a coming-of-age novel that revolves around a 14-year-old boy living in Jeju Island and refugee children that have arrived in Jeju.
- Book Intro
-
Followed by War Game and I Was Eleven Years Old Then, this is the last book of Hyeon’s war-themed trilogy. Secheol, a boy in Jeju, turns 14 years old in the midst of the Korean War. As the war draws to an end, Secheol thinks of the wounds inflicted by the war and the future to come.
By the end of the war, refugees from the land flock to Jeju Island where he lives. After making friends with Youwon, he realizes the horror and cruelty of war. The author Hyeon does not forces readers to take an adult’s point of view. Rather, he presents a faithful account of the mournful reality of the Korean war from the perspective of children including Secheol.
Nail Marks focuses not only on the Korean war but also on the personal growth of the protagonist Secheol. Secheol feels inferior to other children from Seoul who receive relief supplies and look more neat, and he also feels sorry for his brother who ends up having a disability. One day, his brother orders him to hammer a nail whenever he does something wrong and pull out it whenever he does something good. As the number of nails hammered continues to increase, his brother picks on him. Unable to tolerate this, Secheol pulls out all nails, but nail marks remain quite clearly and cannot be removed. Secheol’s wounds are healed up by pulling off the nails, and his tough childhood ends with his scars remaining intact.
- About the Author
-
Hyeon Gileon
Born in Jeju Island of Korea, Hyeon Gileon worked for 25 years as a professor at Jeju National University and Hanyang University. Making his literary debut in Hyundai Literature, author Hyeon has written story collections including Yongma’s Dream and Leaving Home and novels including Hallasan Mountain and The Time of Passion. Realizing the desperate need for a new type of novels that can be enjoyed by various age groups without boundaries between adult, children, and adolescent novels, Hyeon has presented the coming-of-age novel trilogy War Game, I Was Eleven Years Old Then, and Nail Marks. He has received various awards including the Hyundai Literature Award, Republic of Korea Literature Award, Kim Joonsung Literature Award, Baeknam Academic Award, and Green Literature Award.
Lee Woo-Beom
Lee Woo-Beom was born in Tianjin, China in 1943 and graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Oriental Painting. Starting from school illustrations when he was a sophomore in high school, Lee has worked on various illustration for newspapers, magazines, and company papers. He has also drawn illustrations for children’s story books, biographies, elemental school national textbooks, and high school textbooks. Books drawn by Lee Woo-Beom include Death of a Painter, A Far-Sighted Bird, The God of the Sea, and A Gadwall Who Became the Best. Lee Woo-Beom’s simple yet strong illustration style properly represents Korean emotions and culture.
- Selection
-
Peace Museum, 2010, Children’s Peace Book
Korean Reading Culture Movement Headquarters, Recommended Book
Happy Reading in the Morning, Recommended Book
