A guest came to our house
Friendship Affection Recognition Fairy
Master of Wishes
A day like a gift
Really lucky
Backstory

Author's Note
Commentary on the work

Our world surrounded by friendship, affection, acceptance, and fairies.

One day, Maram, an Iraqi man, comes to Haneul's rented house and wants to stay there for just one month.
Not only is he a welcome guest, but Haneul also hears some disturbing stories from Maram.
There are countless genies of lamps in the world, and I am a genie of the lamp who failed the exam and was sent to Korea, far away from my hometown.
Moreover, he said he would grant his wish.
Although it was absurd, Haneul, who wanted to believe it once, connects every moment of her daily life with her wish from that day on.
I want to go to a snack bar with my friends after school without my mom pushing me in a wheelchair, I want an iron fist to hit the kid who bullies my classmates, and I hope it doesn't rain on my first ever field trip.
However, Haneul is able to erase countless wishes one by one thanks to the loving beings who “pull me from behind with all their might whenever something bad happens to me.”

Crunch, slurp… The sound of our footsteps rolled across the snow.
Four footprints and a long wheelchair mark were drawn in that spot.
At that moment, I realized.
The good fortune that came to me was not a magical wish, but friends.
(Page 137)

Haneul attends school in a regular class, not a special class.
Sometimes, Haneul blends in so naturally into the classroom that it makes you forget that he is disabled.
Because her friends just accept her as a member of their class.
Dam-dam, who brings Haneul's food tray, is simply returning the favor to her family, and her best friends Wang-byeol and Bora think of ways for Haneul to play together at school instead of going to places she cannot go.
It is also worth noting that Pakgu, who had been treating Haneul coldly because she was disabled, gradually changes as he watches his classmates' attitudes sideways.
In this way, "The Speed ​​of Fortune" removes all prejudices related to disability, gender, race, and identity, and warmly shows children's lives with others in the small society called school.
Friendship, affection, recognition… Haneul, who lives surrounded by so much affection, shares her goodwill with others.
By stepping up when your classmates are having a hard time and helping children younger than you, to the extent that you can.
Following numerous affections, fairies are added to the world of Haneul.
When love and kindness come together and roll into another fortune, children grow a little taller.
If the unconditional goodness depicted in this work takes root in our lives, children will be armed with kindness to face the harsh world.

About the preciousness of 'me', the unchangeable luck that can never be changed

Haneul runs a small supermarket and a rental house in a quiet seaside village.
The reason why he stays here, where not only guests but even seagulls rarely come, is because it is a perfect place for Haneul, who uses a wheelchair, to live.
The family accepted Haneul's disability and created a comfortable living environment for Haneul instead of a two-story house where she would have difficulty climbing stairs.
But the moment she leaves home, Haneul faces all kinds of difficulties.
Everywhere I go, I have to check for ramps, elevators, or wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and even at school, I sometimes get into unexpected fights with friends because of wheelchair use.
Sometimes he gets discouraged, but he always shakes it off and moves on again.

Wangbyeol asked me to do it again, so I rolled the hand rim again.
Shake your shoulders like a model, and swing your arms vigorously.
Wangbyeol put her hands together and spoke with a moved look in her eyes.
“I’ve never seen a wheelchair as confident as yours.” (pp. 103-104)

For Haneul, who has spent more than half of her life in a wheelchair, disability is a natural condition, and it is an identity that cannot be separated from or hidden.
That is why Haneul does not turn the arrow of the problem onto herself.
While the protagonists with disabilities have focused on accepting themselves, Haneul turns her attention to the society in which she lives.
Haneul, who said she would not go to a place where she would “feel rejected,” instead of stopping, shows a bold attitude that she will go further.
In this turbulent world, we hope to find more places to roam, and we ask ourselves whether we are ready to live together with the world.
Furthermore, this work focuses on the importance of living happily as ‘me’.
He can help a little customer who came to the supermarket alone or a friend carrying a heavy load with a wheelchair, and he can also show off his own wheelchair walking skills instead of idol choreography.
People sometimes blame their own circumstances in the face of adversity and yearn for a better life.
The environment may change at any time, but the one constant is yourself.
“Because I like myself.
As Haneul softly says, “It’s really good,” children will ponder the opportunities in life given equally to everyone and their uniqueness that cannot be exchanged for anyone else’s.

My lifelong wish is Jang Ha-neul
A powerful voice of hospitality to me and the world!

The day when Sister Maram leaves is approaching.
It's not an easy decision to make, considering it's only one wish.
Just then, Maram nods at Haneul's leg, asking what she was thinking about for so long.
Yes, that's what happened! Haneul, being cautious, subtly asks her mother if she's ever made a wish.
Haneul's nose gets tingly at her mother's unexpected wish, but she decides to keep the wish buried in her heart.
“Some wishes are better when they don’t come true,” and it’s far from the true heart of the sky.
After much thought, Haneul shouts out her final wish related to her legs to her older sister Maram.

Sister Maram tilted her head as if surprised.
“Why?”
“This is me.
“I have never thought that anyone else was better than me.” (p. 123)

Despite Haneul's continued acceptance of her disability, her wish exceeds the expectations of both Maram and the reader.
Just like the proverb "A lifelong wish is like scorched rice," which metaphorically describes how asking for something so trivial is, Haneul's wish may feel like throwing away a golden opportunity to some.
But isn't this simply because we're looking at it from the perspective of a non-disabled person? "The Speed ​​of Fortune" listens attentively to the voices of those who clearly exist but are intentionally erased from the world.
Maram unconditionally confronts those who do not hesitate to make rude remarks based on race, and Haneul finally rebukes her friend who uses his disability as an excuse, saying it was just a joke.
It is unknown whether Maram truly granted Haneul's wish or if another stroke of luck appeared, but what is certain is that as the world continues to show hospitality, it will reach me as I live with them.
Like the luck that the heavens have by your side.

Fairy tales have always been concerned with the young and the weak, and one of their important functions is to convey an optimistic outlook on the world.
In that sense, the value of this work seems clear.
I hope this story, which is a fitting narrative for the new era, yet also filled with tenderness and playfulness, will be widely read.
Maybe thanks to this work, the world we live in will get a little faster at rolling wheelchairs.
- Kim Min-ryeong (children's literature critic), from the commentary on the work

Recommended reviews

Although it begins with a provocative question about disability, it treats disability as simply an identity rather than dichotomizing it into disability and non-disability.
It contains criticism of ableism, but it is not overt, and the attitudes of the people around the film toward disabilities are positive and beautiful.

- [4th Four Seasons Children's Literature Award Judges: Kim Min-ryeong, Kim Tae-ho, and Kim Hye-jeong]