★ Recommended by novelist Jeong Se-rang ★

I want to give you this painful book on every page.

Why is it always so difficult to protect love? In a world where everything seems to be ruined, I want to read this book with people who have willingly been cut and stabbed, who have worked tirelessly to protect something, who have lost and been lost again.
It would be nice to read each story differently.
No matter what I dig up from the margins of the book, I don't think I'll find any easy solace.
Some pain is necessary to wake us up from our dull state.
That is why I want to give you this painful book on every page.

“One winter night, a woman gave birth to a snow baby.”

Hello, everyone's favorite author, Annyeongdal
A new, weighty, full-length narrative
To those who have tried hard to protect something

Annyeongdal, a writer beloved by all generations, has published her new work, "Eyes, Water."
The author, who has created a lovely fantasy world that instantly melts the boundaries between children and adults with picture books such as “Watermelon Swimming Pool,” “Carrot Kindergarten,” and “Snow Child,” presents a work for adult readers for the first time.


It depicts the experiences of a woman who gives birth to a 'snow child' who melts when held in her arms, and goes to the city to find a device to save the child.
This full-length picture book minimizes the use of text and continues the story of 288 pages solely through the power of illustrations, making it a standout attempt to break through the limitations of the genre format.
This is a story that the author has been cherishing and refining for five years, starting in 2017.
The author, looking at the snow that shines dazzlingly but quickly melts in the sunlight and becomes sticky, thought of the 'snow child', a being that disappears in the warmth.
And with that motif, he created two completely different works, 『Snow Child』 and 『Snow, Water』.


Through this work, readers can enjoy the pleasure of encountering the author's previously undisclosed inner sensibilities, while also confirming the author's outstanding skills as a "storyteller."
"Eyes, Water" closely follows the isolated woman's situation, confronting her pain but never forgetting that everyone has a desperate desire to protect what is precious to them.
In the darkest part of the Hello Moon spectrum, a work of art was born that shines the most precious heart.


Can ghosts be happy?
Can even a shadow protect something precious?

'Always Winter', a device that allows 'Snow Child' to stay safe, is too expensive for a woman to own.
The woman works hard to buy 'Always Winter', but in this bright, fast, and affluent city, she ends up becoming a ghost, a shadow, invisible to anyone.
Although the city is full of shouts of 'paradise', 'relaxation', and 'rest', paradoxically, women here are depicted as being even more pressed for time and having no choice but to wander.


The snow child is easily read as symbolizing abnormality, and 'Always Winter' is read as symbolizing the social welfare system needed to embrace abnormality.
It is not difficult to imagine people in real life who, like the protagonist of "Eyes, Water," live in a blind spot, "being there but not there."
The author gazes at these people and asks seriously whether the world we live in is one where even those who live like ghosts and shadows can be happy, and whether it is a world where they can willingly protect what they hold dear.


A sophisticatedly crafted fantasy and reality space-time
A gaze that protects 'people outside the boundaries'

"Eyes, Water" is a masterpiece that unfolds a long story from beginning to end in a single breath, with a carefully crafted story, delicate depiction of time and space, and diverse screen direction.
In particular, the theme is powerfully conveyed by thoroughly contrasting the two spaces of the woman's home and the city.
The woman's small, shabby house is empty inside and out, like a vacuum.
This woman's space may seem like a fantasy, but when I see a scene depicting her being pushed out by the city's vast forest of buildings, I am reminded of a specific place in reality.


The city that a woman, a 'being outside the boundaries', experiences is a bustling but muted space where no one makes a real sound, and only the ticking of the clock resonates loudly like a law.
This contrasts with the faint but warm sounds of laughter and singing coming from the woman's house, symbolically revealing that places with precious things can easily disappear.
In order for women to work in the city, they must don inhuman forms such as airplanes and air conditioners. This setting sadly highlights an aspect of urban space where some people are not guaranteed human dignity or rights.


The directing is also skillful in adjusting the speed of turning the pages to give the story a sense of urgency.
While reading the small picture cuts carefully, the image of the woman running away makes you turn the pages one after another, showing you gasping for breath. By making you watch the ice cream she was selling melting, the author makes you realize hopelessly that nothing she has can give you what you want.


However, the ending where the woman returns home with 'Always Winter' tells us that there is no one in this world that deserves to be erased, and that everyone has the right to protect what is precious to them.
"Eyes, Water" could be the story of everyone who lives with something they want to protect in their hearts.
This work, which supports the will to never give up by watching the back of a struggling person until the very end, gives us courage.