- Overview
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Geoje Island became the land of hope where many child prisoners survived. The story tells the message of hope and freedom in wartime Korea.
- Book Intro
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"A boy’s dream is to become a ship captain and travel the sea, but the war takes place and he is dragged away to fight in battle. He is captured and sent to an island as a war prisoner. The prisoners at the POW camp are divided by ideology and wage their own war against one another, and the boy feels helpless. One day, something strange makes its way to the camp. It is a toad believed by the islanders to be sacred. And this toad brings child prisoners to the camp, and the sound of their innocent laughter begins to resonate throughout the camp. Their laughter reminds the boy soldier of his home and helps him take his first step toward his long-forgotten dream.
The story of Child Prisoners was inspired by the Geoje Island POW camp during the Korean War and the pictures on each page were done by printmaking from woodcut engravings. During the Korean War, the island became home to over 170,000 POWs not to mention refugees from North Korea. At the POW camp, there were many boy and girl soldiers who had been dragged into war, and although they had no idea of the ideological conflict which had given rise to this war, they lost their freedom and family as well as a chance to live their life. In this story of darkness and despair, the writer imbues a glimmer of hope in the form of a toad. The toad brings child prisoners to the camp, and their innocent laughter becomes the seed of hope and the message of salvation resonating throughout the camp torn apart by the ideological difference and turning despair into hope. The writer focuses not on wartime violence, but on hope, which has the power to bring out the courage in people. "
- About the Author
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Kim Jiyeon
(English) She studied painting in graduate school and went on to study illustration and picture books at the SI Illustration School. She teaches classes on picture books to everyone including children, young adults, and adults. Her books include One Hundred Years Old Child which tells the story of one hundred years of modern Korean history with illustrations done from woodcut engravings, The Tiger Wind which tells the story of the 2020 Goseong Wildfire with illustrations done using the marbling technique and woodcut engravings, and Flower Pattern Doors which shows and explains the traditional wooden door patterns in the different shape of beautiful flowers.
(Japanese) 大学院で西洋画を専攻し、SI絵本学校で絵本を学んだ。
絵本講義を通して、子供、青少年、大人を問わず読者たちと疎通している。
著書に、韓国の近現代史100年を版画にした『百年子共』、高城山火事の絆を描くためマーブリングと版画で表現した『虎風』、韓国伝統の花狭間を盛り込んだ『花狭間』などがある。
- Award
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Selected as one of the regional publication projects supported by KPIPA in 2021