- Overview
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A story of how a father spends his first year after retirement as told by his daughter who tries to give support and comfort so he might feel less depressed and anxious.
- Book Intro
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(English) Today, I Must Ask Dad How He's Doing
This book is based on the author's real experience. The main characters are a daughter and a father. The daughter calmly observes how her dad spends the first year after retirement. So it's a story about the father, but it's the daughter who tells the story like a monologue.
After retirement, the father finally gets to live a peaceful and quiet life that hadn't been possible before. He enjoys a hobby that he'd always been putting off and hangs out with his friends. He attends his daughter's graduation ceremony for the first time ever and volunteers to prepare breakfast for the whole family. Perhaps, this was his attempt at getting closer to the rest of the family, as his hectic work life had never allowed him to communicate properly with them.
But as time goes by, he gradually speaks less and sighs more out of boredom and an uncertain future. He tries to get another job but fails, which further discourages him. Can the daughter give him support?
Her mind is depicted in her dreams.
In the pouring rain, she says to her father, "Dad, let's share my umbrella. Mine's bigger now."(Japanese) 今日こそはお父さんの安否を聞かないといけない
娘の無関心な瞳に映るお父さんの退職後の1年間を描いた絵本だ。お父さんは家族のために朝ごはんを準備する。ゆとりのある余暇時間を楽しみ、たまには友達にも会って…。娘はお父さんの退職ライフも悪くないなと思っていた。ところが、時が経つにつれお父さんは口数が減りため息が増えていく。再就職の面接のあった日、お父さんはうなだれているように見えた。その日は1年前に退職した日のように雨が降った。傘もさしていないのに、お父さんは大したことないと「大丈夫だ」と娘の心配を無理やり聞き流して出ていく。やっぱり退職したあの日のように。その日の夜、娘の夢には雨でずぶ濡れのお父さんが出てくるのだが…。
- About the Author
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Yeojune Yoon
ㅑEnglish) Having majored in oriental art and art theory, author Yeojune Yoon creates stories, and plans for exhibitions. He likes things that seem complicated, twisted, and tangled with blurred boundaries. He may be timid, but he does save energy to be more vocal when necessary. He co-wrote the essay At the Time, My Grandmother and wrote and illustrated Today, I Must Ask Dad How He's Doing, his first-ever picture book.
(Japanese) 物語を作り、展示を企画します。東洋画と美術理論を勉強しました。容易くないもの、もつれあってるもの、複雑に絡み合っているものが好きです。一緒に書いたエッセイに『その時、おばあちゃん』があります。『今日はお父さんの安否を聞かなければなりません』は初めて絵と文を書いた絵本です。
- Recommendation
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Introduced by The Hankyoreh (newspaper), 2020
Recommended by Morning Reading, 2021
