A new work by Ryu Jae-hyang, author of 『Reasons for Cursing』 and 『Penguins to Us』!
The small and precious 'etc.' stories that adults forbid and ignore

'Other' is more important than you think.
This is why we should listen to the small voices whispering in the corners rather than the loud voices.
"I'm applying for other clubs" gives me hope that today's small list of "others" will make any day of tomorrow shine without fail.
-Song Mi-kyung (children's story writer)

School, a space that embraces, holds, and listens

“I don’t go to school because it’s really fun either.”
“I haven’t had a chance to properly look around our school yet.”
- From the text, “I am applying for other clubs”

Post-COVID, schools have become more boring, frustrating, and ambiguous spaces for children than before.
Schools where various experiential activities such as field trips, sports days, and field trips have decreased and only repetitive regular classes remain.
What do children want to fill the everyday space called school with?

"Applying for Other Clubs" reminds us of the role and function of schools that we had forgotten due to the coronavirus.
A place where children can explore on their own, where adults listen to their absurd suggestions, where even the most trivial and insignificant things are valued—isn't this the true role of school? What kind of school do these 11 protagonists envision, and what kind of clubs do they envision?

What children really want is not 'set choices' but 'new questions'.
It's a book that asks, "What do you want?"
-Im Yul-i (elementary school teacher)

Young but strong hearts that overcome constraints and hatred

“It’s true that I can’t sit still, I spill things and knock things over.
But what can I do when my body does that without me knowing?”
“Cicada shells, bird eggshells, acorns.
Small but precious.
Adults keep throwing away the things I collect because they are messy.”
"What on earth is the standard for what's useful and what's not? Thinking about it, creating it, ruining it, and thinking about it again—that's the fun in itself."
“They said I couldn’t enter because it was a no-kids zone.
"Do we really think we're going to break something? Or ruin the mood?"
- From the text, “I am applying for other clubs”

The restraints of adults toward children, big and small, have always existed regardless of the era.
However, as we entered an era of low birth rates, children became objects of hatred as a social minority and the weak.
Only children who do everything quickly, say only what is necessary, act carefully and quietly, study diligently, think intelligently… …and act according to the standards set by adults are welcome.


However, the 11 main characters in “Applying for Other Clubs” are all slightly outside of that standard.
Sol, who hates obvious and repetitive things; Yeo-un, who hates walking quickly while looking at the ground and wants to walk slowly and look at the clouds in the sky; Hee-dong, who wants to play in puddles without worrying about getting wet and getting mud-splattered on a rainy day; So-i, who wants to collect things that are trivial and insignificant to adults but precious; Min-yong, who wants to chatter endlessly without getting scolded by the teacher; Sumin, who wants to create ingenious inventions free from the bullying of being useless and worthless; Dae-ho, who is tired of running around the academy and wants to do nothing and space out; So-yul and Ji-yul, who are tired of the no-kids zone and want to make their own desserts and eat them elegantly; Sandeul, who wants to study comedy for their depressed mother; Do-ah, who needs meditation and counseling because she has nowhere to relieve all her stress; and Da-young, who wants to go to all the places that a wheelchair can't go.


These are all the most typical of our children, who in reality have been nagged and rejected countless times by their parents and teachers.
In his previous works, author Ryu Jae-hyang has delicately observed the minds of children and listened to their small voices. In his new work, "Applying for Guitar Clubs," he also listens to the voices and minds of children and goes a step further to show the process of children finding answers on their own.


"Applying for Other Clubs" shows children step by step through the process of speaking up and being heard.
And the process itself becomes play.
Reading this book makes me think again that the journey is more important than the destination.
And I love the children who have dreams that will come true more than the ones that have already come true.

-Song Mi-kyung (children's story writer)

He compares the rules set by adults to regular clubs, and through the children who create clubs that are not part of the regular curriculum, he depicts children overcoming and healing their experiences of rejection and rejection.

The children, the main characters, find answers together with their friends through telling and listening to each other's stories, and in the process, they grow little by little and steadily, even though it is not visible.


A keen eye for detail, the freedom to use your imagination

“Teacher, I think ‘guitar’ is more important than you think.
Others, etc., etc., people don't really care about those things.
“I sometimes write down what I really want to say on the guitar.”
“There are other clubs, too.
It was really nice to meet you.
It was like a ray of sunshine.
So I held out hope.”

We live in a society where the 'mainstream' and the 'majority' are important, and we forget about the existence of things like 'others' and 'etc.'
But it is because of these things that the world's diversity and individual dignity are preserved.
Words like 'other', 'etc.', and 'etc.' resemble children.
There are few of them, they are low in importance, and they are weak in power.
But they are important entities that would collapse without us.
Only by looking closely at the guitar and allowing ourselves the space to use our imaginations can diverse beings survive and flourish.


Children are busy, noisy, erratic, and mobile beings.
We all went through that period and became adults.
Through this fairy tale, author Ryu Jae-hyang gently tells adults that this is how children are originally, and tells children that they should express and reveal what they like.
For children who are about to start a new school year after the end of the vacation, applying for a guitar club will give them the strength to take a step forward in reality through the anticipation of school life, the sense of accomplishment that comes from being able to accomplish things on their own, and the hope that their exciting imaginations and outlandish ideas will come true.