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More eyes on Korean children’s books after the release of It's Okay to Not Be Okay

 In 2004 and 2012, Cite Bookshop and Eslite Bookstore of Taiwan both launched in Hong Kong, bringing along the Taiwanese reading trend. These bookstores featured children's book sections with numerous fairy tales. This was when the “fairy tale craze” began in Hong Kong.

 Since the 1990s, the children’s book market in Hong Kong went through a recession for a decade that seemed nearly impossible to revive. However, after the 2010s, Hongkongese publishers and bookstores began to promote and sell children’s books around the world. For a long time, the Hong Kong children’s book market was led by Taiwan, Japan, and some Western countries. Picture books were especially popular. Interest in Korean children’s books began to grow since the release of the TV show It’s Okay to Not Be Okay through Netflix in 2020. The show became so popular, affecting children’s books in drawing the attention of the Hongkongese market.

The children’s book market in Hong Kong influenced by Taiwan

 However, the sensation of the It's Okay to Not Be Okay storybooks is a rare case in the Hongkongese market. The children’s book market in Hong Kong is taken over by works of Japan, Taiwan, and other Western countries. Korean children’s books still take up a small proportion and their impact is limited. The translation and dissemination of Korean children’s books are usually affected in the ways described below.

 First, traditional Chinese editions are mostly translated by Taiwanese publishers for publication. Therefore, the Hongkongese market is affected by the book preference of Taiwanese publishers. Generally speaking, it can be viewed that the Hongkongese market does not have much authority in selecting foreign books and translating them.

 Second, Hong Kong seldom has publishers that specialize in the publication of children’s books. Apart from Cotton Tree Publishing that published two Korean books (Who Took Over the Small Stream?(Lee Hye-ok, 2011) and Small But Big Tree(Kim Se-sil, 2016)), there are no other publishers in Hong Kong that translated and published Korean children's books on their own.

 Third, many publishers obviously have the tendency to translate books by award-winning authors. Works of internationally recognized author Lee Suzy and laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Baek Hee-na have been published more often, relatively. However, those of less popular authors are rarely published in Chinese or English. Most Korean children’s books distributed in Hong Kong are award-winning pieces. Currently, in Hong Kong, there is not enough understanding of the authors of Korean children’s books. Moreover, Hongkongers are not familiar with the Korean language, and there is no way to introduce Korean children’s books. Therefore, most readers in Hong Kong are given reading options that Taiwanese publishers prefer.

Children’s books preferred by Hongkongers

 To date, it cannot be said that Korean children’s books take up a significant portion of the Hongkongese market. However, the contents and illustrations of Korean children’s books are certainly world-class. PMQ, a cultural space in Hong Kong, exhibited two Korean children’s books-You Talk, I’ll Remain Silent and Enjoy (Lee Ji-hyeon, 2013) and Watermelon Pool (Annyeongdal, 2015)-through two exhibitions: Being Beings: Everything Feels in 2021 and Somebody Feed Me Picture Book Exhibition 2022. Lee Ji-hyeon’s work tells that a balance between the environment and personal interests is necessary in the process of human development. The main character who jumps into a swimming pool imagines herself swimming in the ocean and realizes she is different from others. She then tries to find the significance of this realization. Another piece is Watermelon Pool by Annyeongdal which describes the scenery of adults and children in a large watermelon pool in summer and enjoying the watermelon to its fullest.

 Professor Dafna Zur of Stanford University mentioned that the core topic of modern Korean children’s literature is “childhood innocence.” It is clear that the two literature pieces mentioned above also took over this tradition. The two books display rich imagination, have a clear topic, and feature neat illustrations, displaying the beauty and innocence of childhood.

 In addition, some Korean children’s books contain historical subjects that help Hongkongese readers indirectly understand Korean society. Did Mom Not Come Back Yet(2004) is an adaptation of a newspaper series by Lee Tae-jun issued in 1938. The book cover has an illustration of a child waiting for his mother. This book features the lifestyle of Korea in the 1930s. The traditional color tones convey the innocent ambiance of Korea at the time. The author referred to the attire, transportation means, and lifestyles of people for drawing illustrations and created gave the main character an adorable image. The car that runs underwater and the large trees particularly make the imaginations of readers go wild.

 Who Took Over the Small Stream by Lee Hye-ok is about the history of the Cheonggyecheon Stream that runs across the heart of Seoul. It is a record of the relationship between the Cheonggyecheon Stream and the people of the neighborhood. It mentions the covering of the stream in the 1960s and the restoration in 2003. The author counts numbers, gives quizzes, and makes rhymes consistently for describing the stream's history. This shows that Korean publishers focus on not only marketing but also other educational features through children’s books. These examples of children’s book effectively deliver the history and culture of Korea. The fact that they were published in Hong Kong tells that the Hongkongese market has recognized the significance and values that Korean children’s books intended to convey.

 In fact, some children’s books in Korea already show maturity. Their readers are not limited to children, and their objectives are not limited to educational purposes. Korean children’s books in Hong Kong describe adulthood issues, changes in emotions, and so forth.

The It’s Okay to Not Be Okay storybooks are related to the adult characters of the TV show, covering the developmental process of the lead role, pressures given by parents, and mental control. The fourth book of this series The Hand, the Monkfish(2020) features a mother who shows extra love toward her child but does not let the child learn to feed herself nor walk on her own. The mother's overprotection makes the child’s hands and feet useless, turning the child into a monkfish with a big mouth that can do nothing but eat. The mother throws the child into the ocean after the child becomes worthless. However, the ocean was already full of “monkfish” that were once excessively pampered by their parents. These children with distorted faces cry every day calling for their parents.

 The Hand, the Monkfish shows how parents overprotect their children in a way they think is good but fail to provide what children actually want. Grown-ups tend to define what a “good child” is according to their will, but they do not truly think in the shoes of children. They insist that they are correct and doing their best, rather than sparing their time to understand their children. They blame children for their own faults.