Previous story
1.
Welcome, any stationery store
2.
Sweet spring water that makes you young
3.
puppy mask
4.
Shinnari Goblin Hat
5.
Double Double Cup
Goblin Story Ledger

Author's Note

Transform into a stationery store owner during the day and a goblin at night!
The birth of a goblin character who listens to any child's story.

We present the first volume of the fairy tale series, “Anything Stationery,” which will bring the joy of reading to elementary school readers.
The universal theme that 'stories' enrich life is expressed through novel characters and humorous narratives.
The main character is a goblin named 'Amoo' who cannot help but write down any interesting story he hears. He is a story maniac who always carries a story book with him even if he forgets his goblin club.
He lived for over a thousand years, appearing before people every day and shouting.
"How about it? Let's have a fun story! Anything's fine as long as it's a story!" Thanks to everyone unconsciously telling a story after hearing the goblin's spell, the story ledger grew thicker by the day.
But as time passed, everything changed and the goblins' golden age came to an end.
As the variety of entertainment available to enjoy alone has increased, people no longer gather together to chat, and they are too busy looking at their smartphones to pay attention even if a goblin appears.
Any Goblin, who was depressed because he couldn't hear the story, comes up with an ingenious idea.
A space to share stories through mysterious objects is called a stationery store.
What kind of events will unfold in this magical stationery store? The protagonist's desire to collect any story he can find is distinct from the goblin characters found in traditional children's literature, making it both novel and exciting.


“I will sell items that have stories and collect new stories again.
I'm opening a store full of things I need to collect and write stories.
Any story will do.
Because there is no such thing as a worthless story.
"Um... ...The name of the store is Any Stationery Store! How about that?" (Page 24)

“Anything can be a story.
“Because there is no such thing as a worthless story.”
Anyone can be honest and have fun at any stationery store!
A fairy tale that teaches the joy and liberation of storytelling.

In Volume 1, four children who come to the stationery store are all desperately hoping for something, and they accidentally enter the stationery store.
Another employee of the stationery store, the cat ghost 'Welcome', who arouses readers' curiosity, guides children to the 'Old Story Items' corner, where the children discover the items they need.
Jay, who is embarrassed by his old mother, gets a 'sweet spring water' that makes him younger every time he drinks it; Youngjae, who finds studying and pet care a bother, gets a 'puppy mask' that turns him into a puppy; Nari, who is upset because she is bad at saying no to people, gets a 'goblin hat' that hides her true self; and Jiwoo, who is dissatisfied because she cannot get the things she wants because of her younger sibling, gets a magic cup that doubles the amount of anything she puts in it.
Anything gives away items for free and leaves behind the cryptic words, “You’ll come back eventually.” However, the children’s worries are not completely solved by magical items, and the children who return to the stationery store pour out their hearts in response to the goblin’s request to tell stories.
What relieves the children's tension is none other than 'storytelling' itself, and through the process of storytelling, they experience a moment when their long-standing worries are resolved.
Gratitude for a mother's unconditional love, a yearning for a pet that cannot speak, a determination to live one's own life rather than according to others' standards, and a heart that cherishes one's only sibling are all things that come to mind, and one finally realizes what is truly precious to oneself.
The children, who have let go of their old feelings, leave the stationery store with lighter hearts, and Anything and Welcome cheer for the children's future, which has become stronger.
Through the warm gaze of two stationery store employees who encourage children to share their stories, readers will find comfort and the strength to begin their own stories.


“What kind of story will come tomorrow?”
The world has been connected through 'stories' for eternity!
A harmony of easy composition and a story filled with healthy laughter

All four episodes in the work borrow motifs from our old tales.
Author Jeong Eun-jeong, who has always been interested in myths, legends, and folktales, has created new stories by imagining the events related to the characters and objects in old tales through the eyes of modern children.
From “The Fountain of Youth,” which is about an old man who drinks too much of the fountain of youth and becomes a baby, to “The Lazy Man Who Became an Ox,” which is about a lazy man who turns into a cow, to “The Goblin’s Hat,” which is about a man who steals and is punished, to “The Magic Jar,” which deals with a jar that endlessly produces the same thing no matter what you put inside, the author borrows elements from widely known folk tales to create an easy-to-understand narrative structure and retains elements of humor, while naturally conveying the lesson that we must take responsibility for the consequences of our choices through situations that children today can relate to.
The "Goblin Story Ledger," which follows the main text like an appendix, humorously contains old tales that connect to the stories that appeared earlier, providing another entertaining read.
This passage highlights the author's challenging spirit and will to harmoniously unfold old and new stories in one book.
Thanks to this, "Anything Stationery" reawakens the belief that, even as the world changes rapidly, the world we live in has always been connected by "stories," and that people have sustained their lives by sharing stories with one another.
What other fairy tale items will be found in the stationery store? What story will the next young customer tell? I hope you'll enjoy watching the charming goblin unfold his storybook with his thick hands and ask customers to bet him on telling him "any story."


We live every day creating stories.
If you listen to yourself, you will find stories rising within you every day.
And the stories we have are pretty powerful.
It makes us strong.
If you know how to share your own story and listen to the stories of others, each day will be more exciting and fun.
The world we live in will become a little wider.
(From the author's note)

● Changbi's 'Good Children's Book' manuscript contest was established in 1997 to foster an environment for writing and publishing good children's books and to encourage the creative desire of children's book authors.
Beginning with Chae In-seon's first award-winning work, 『Telephone Pole Children』, the group has led the change and development of Korean children's literature by publishing a series of major hit works, including Park Ki-beom's 『Problem Child』, Kim Jung-mi's 『Crown-billed Children』, Lee Hyeon's 『Jjajangmyeon Blows Up!』, Bae Yu-an's 『Chojeongri Letter』, Kim Seong-jin's 『How to Use Mom』, Jin Hyeong-min's 『Symbol No. 3 Anseokppong』, and Hong Min-jeong's 『Cat Problem Solver Kkamnyang』.