Critic Kim Ji-eun, writer Seo Han-yeong-gyo, activist Baek Gyeong-nae, reporter Byeon Jin-gyeong…

We work with children to think about and create a better world for them to live in.
12 adult colleagues
To the child inside me and the children next to me
floating letter

What kind of beings are children in our society?
In an era of unprecedented low birth rates, while on the one hand we revere the young, on the other hand we see widespread exclusion and discrimination against children.
An urban environment with no room to run and play, excessive academic stress, no-kids zones that blatantly exclude children, and a home and school atmosphere that views childcare and parenting as a burden…


Beyond our society's dualistic view of children and its aversion to them, this collection of twelve stories is written by adults, hoping that the childhoods we all experienced could be a little warmer and happier, for their young colleagues.
The authors of this book speak with one voice.
“A society that cares for and respects the weakest is a society for all.
“We were all children and we still live as children.”

Hundreds of adults work together to protect these babies, who have entrusted their entire 24 hours to others.
Not only the adoption center staff, but also the aunts and uncles who come and go at different times, there are close to 200 people a week.
There are also adults who deliver baby food, drive them to the hospital, and wash, dry, and organize the mountains of clothes, blankets, and towels that come out every day.
I do hair, provide home visits, put rice cakes on the 100th day or first birthday table, take pictures, repair the house… … .
The hands needed for a human being to grow are filled with the close cooperation of many people.

Even though two hours of service may seem insignificant, I find comfort in the thought that this care for one child is like a gigantic "cooperative sewing."
We are creating a large patchwork called ‘Baby’s Growth’ together, one stitch at a time.
Even if they cannot fully fulfill the role of parents, all adults who truly wish for the happiness of the baby can be said to be social guardians in that they take care of the baby together.
---From "Jang Hee-sook, 'There is no love that only gives'"

As was the case at the museum, I was often 'kindly' turned away in many places for safety and health reasons.
It's really frustrating that the places where I get rejected the most are playgrounds, kids cafes, kindergartens, and schools.
Children are rejected from their favorite places, the places they can only go when they are children.
I don't think he did it with any bad intentions.
It may be because we cannot imagine children with different bodies or with various disabilities.
The students I meet have two identities: "disabled" and "child," but many seem to focus more on the fact that they have a disability than on the fact that they are a child.
---From "Gong Jin-ha, "Children I Know Who I Want to Include in 'Children' Stories"

On Children's Day 2022, a press conference was held in front of the National Assembly to declare "Children's Day for the Elimination of Discrimination."
Children shouted, “Don’t discriminate against me because I’m a child” to a society that ignores and discriminates against me because I’m young.
Not as children who are treated as the property of their parents or as appendages of adults, but as inhabitants of the Earth who live 'together' in the same era.
Not just as objects of protection and nurturing, but as citizens who learn how to 'be together'.
For over 100 years, we have been demanding that we be regarded not as a future dream tree constantly delayed from the present, but as a partner who creates the future 'together'.
---From "Seo Han-yeong-gyo, "Democracy of Inquiry"

If there's a universal reason we should remember that everyone was once a child, I believe it's that we must never forget the experience of being placed in the vulnerable position represented by "children," of living in a world assigned to us regardless of our own choices.
A person who, whether good or bad, had to depend absolutely on the resources and generosity he bestowed.
A person who was worried that conditions that I could not change would become reasons for me to be rejected.
A person who is more vulnerable because he or she craves recognition and care.
A person who was anxious in a world full of unfamiliar things he was doing for the first time, worried that a mistake might become an excuse for his recognition or support to be withdrawn.
A person who had to live under the same roof as someone who could hit me at any time.
It is because of that ‘young me’ and the time I spent as a child that I am who I am today.
It is not that we were once children, but that life continues with that young existence in our hearts.
---From "Background, 〈Holding a Young Being, Here and Now〉"

When I see a scene in the street or in a public place where a child is being scolded loudly or spoken to informally, I immediately freeze.
When I see people getting irritated and angry at children without any reason, I find myself cringing without realizing it.
And on the other hand, I feel ashamed and guilty for not being able to take the side of the child who was being unfairly treated rudely and pretending not to know about it.
Every time that happens, it feels like small but heavy stones are piling up in my chest.

Maybe it's because of this feeling that I want to stay in school.
Being in school allows me to be a little more proactive in what happens to students than I would be on the streets.
We can't change all the unethical behaviors in schools, but we can at least ask students in stressful situations and take a moment to stand by their side.
You can talk to a student who is isolated and tell them it's not their fault.
---「Hyun Yu-rim, from “It’s Not Your Fault”」

What if all children, now adults, could approach movement from this perspective of play?
There is no child who does not like to move from the beginning.
After coming into the world and not knowing whether their body was their own, children begin to roll over, crawl, and walk.
And constantly moving, reaching out to those who love and protect you, exploring a world full of wonders with your whole body.
Reach out to the being you are attached to and find what you need.
An experience where the body moves according to the desire to connect and curiosity about the world.
The memory of such movements is engraved on everyone's body.


But as we grow up, we become more and more distant from each other in our movements.
This is because we accumulate experiences in which the value of our bodies is judged based on a muscular, cool body or a strong body that is good at sports.
Movement thus increasingly becomes the domain of certain people who are 'good at using' their bodies.
The girl, who used to run around so much that her face was covered in sweat as if she had just washed her face, said that she started to worry about the belly fat that was visible when she hung from the horizontal bar around the time she entered the upper grades of elementary school.
The boy, who had been exploring his fears at his own pace and carefully observing his opponents, became angry at the ridicule, saying, "You're a boy, can't you do that?" and distanced himself from sports.
---From "Kim Yun-il, "The World of Children Encountered through Body and Play"

Phrases like “regional extinction” and “lowest birth rate in the world” no longer have much impact on members of society.
I think I've kind of given up now.
Despite the daily stream of government announcements and media articles emphasizing the crisis, the world seems to be going on as vibrantly as before, and I've become numb to it.
But I feel the shock with a simpler proposition.
The children disappear.
I have experienced this chilling truth firsthand, not in a shameful way, but very clearly, during my 15 years as a journalist.
It is not only in rural and fishing villages where children have already disappeared that the population is declining.
When I heard a merchant near the school zone where a child died shouting, “Is it right to make adults feel this uncomfortable just because one child died?” When I met an elementary school student stuffing a hamburger into his mouth while dragging a heavy carrier bag full of high school workbooks at 10:30 at night in the Daechi-dong academy district, When I read the hellish comment section of a portal site filled with hundreds of horrific comments telling children from immigrant and refugee families to “stop wasting taxes and go back to your country,” I was witnessing a scene in our society where children were being “deleted” one by one.
Then one day, they will all disappear and the whole world will become the 'No Kids Zone' you've been longing for, he said, sarcastically sneering into the air.
---From “Soft Child, Hard World” by Jin-Kyung Byun

It is often said that children should grow up playing and be happy.
The problem is that happiness is rarely explained from a child's perspective.
Children are the masters of their own lives, and the definition of happiness is provided by the adults surrounding them.
It means that you have to study hard, go to a top university, and have a stable job.
The goal of life is to be set for adulthood, and childhood is treated as a period of preparation for the future.
That is why the term “children’s rights” made my heart pound.
Because childhood is not seen as a process for achieving later achievements, but rather as a properly important stage of life.
---From "Kim Hee-jin, "Why Children's Rights Are Everyone's Human Rights"

Freedom for children is impossible without freedom for books.
If censorship begins in children's books, it is likely to lead to censorship of other books.
Children who become accustomed to censorship grow into involuntary adults who accept censorship.
Censorship that begins with books on gender equality could lead to censorship of other books that deal with various philosophies and social cultures.
Why do censors target children's books as their first priority? Because children, with limited opportunities to speak as readers, are the most vulnerable to isolation from the reading culture ecosystem.
The child, unaware of the attempts at censorship surrounding him, suddenly discovers this when his beloved book disappears from the bookshelf one day.
Through a few administrative actions, he is instantly cut off from the very existence of the books he would have probably wanted to read, books he would have enjoyed reading in the future.
We cannot raise children to be global citizens in a controlled reading environment.
For children, books are a classroom in themselves where they learn about democracy and diversity.
---From "Kim Ji-eun, 'If Something Happens, Run to the Book!'"

As with all care, child care is particularly important because the relationship between the caregiver and the care recipient is crucial.
Care doesn't just mean keeping children safe somewhere when adults aren't around.
All humans, no, all living beings, cannot survive without interdependence and without being cared for by someone.
The process of care coincides with the process of socialization.
In fact, care and education cannot be separated by a sharp line, like cutting tofu with a knife.
What the state-run care and education have in common is that they do not include ‘humans.’
I believe that care should not be confined within the walls of a school.
Children should be protected and taught the common good within the space in which they live.
And in doing so, you can grow as a citizen.
---From "Kim Jung-mi, Growing in Every Moment We Spend Together"

My grandfather said that he thought a lot while writing and reading 'The World We Dream of' together.
'How should we live so that we can leave a clean and beautiful world for our children?' They say that good imagination can create a good world.
So, starting today, I'm going to start imagining good things.
And I will do my best to move forward in the given position so that that imagination can become reality.
As we move forward, there will be times when we feel tired and worn out, but each time, we will think of each other growing like corn.
Because we need to fix the world created by foolish adults who have been living recklessly, oblivious to where they are going, obsessed with money and convenience.
Because among the foolish adults, there is also my grandfather.

---From "Seo Jeong-hong, "A Letter to Children from a Mountain Grandfather Born on Children's Day"