"A Poem That Sparked a Boom in Hope"
Amid the coronavirus pandemic that has plunged the world into crisis and anxiety,
A poem that conveys comfort and healing is now available as a beautiful picture book!

In March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, forcing everyone to practice social distancing through quarantines and lockdowns, a poem was posted on social media.
This is Kitty O'Meara's "And the People Stayed Home," which contains a message that we should use the isolation brought about by the coronavirus as an opportunity for reflection and transformation.
This poem surprisingly became a spark of hope and quickly spread throughout the world.
Not only was it widely shared on social media by influencers like Deepak Chopra, Bella Hadid, and Lindsay Lohan, but it was also reported by major media outlets, making it an instant sensation.

Poetry has inspired and moved people, and has spread into various forms of art.
John Corigliano, winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, composed the poem to music, Renée Fleming, a well-known American folk singer, sang the song, and the Texas Ballet Company also reinterpreted the poem as a dance.
It has also been translated and recited in many languages ​​and made into a short film.
And finally, Kitty O'Meara's poetry meets beautiful and delicate illustrations and comes to us as a picture book called 'And the People Stayed Home.'
The picture book gained immense popularity and attention on Amazon in the United States immediately after its publication, and was also produced as an animated book narrated by actress Kate Winslet.
The Korean version includes a special recommendation from Sister Hae-in Lee to encourage reflection on the COVID-19 era, and a commentary by ecologist Jae-cheon Choi to encourage reflection on how to live in the post-COVID-19 era.

“While we stay at home, we will enjoy nature, which has returned to a much healthier state than before, and create a new way of life.
This book calmly portrays such hope.”
Commentary by Choi Jae-cheon (ecologist, president of the Biodiversity Foundation)

“The author's keen insights, wise enlightenment, and broad perspective, embracing the earth, are deeply moving, contained within these concise poems.”
_Recommended by Hae-in Lee (nun, poet)

Today, we will talk about the 'resilience' that has made us strong.
A poetry picture book that sings of the 'ecological transition' we must face tomorrow.

The coronavirus has forced people to stay home and pause for a while.
It was a difficult time for everyone, but paradoxically, it made us listen to the precious values ​​we had forgotten.
People did not become discouraged by adversity and trials, but healed themselves by creating better ways than before.
The Earth also regenerated and recovered itself during the time that people stopped.
Finally, when the danger has passed, those who venture outside again welcome the world back to health with renewed eyes and warmer hearts.
In this way, people realized that they had to use the power that healed them to heal the Earth.

In this poem, author Kitty O'Meara draws attention to people's 'resilience'.
People say that in the process of overcoming and recovering from a crisis, they have chosen to live more vividly than ever before.
In addition, ecologist Choi Jae-cheon suggests the need for an 'ecological transition' through his commentary.
He says that only when people are reborn with the will to share this planet with all other life forms will they be able to live a little longer on this beautiful planet.
Now we must change.
And it will definitely change.


'Recording experiences'
It is a sense of mission to ensure that the next generation remembers and lives in a better world.

I wanted to document the human experience we are experiencing now and a hopeful future.

-Kitty O'Meara

"And People Stayed Home" captures the time when people were forced to stay home due to the pandemic as the coronavirus spread across the globe.
A crisis can be an opportunity to change people's lives, and it also shows how those who were previously indifferent and indifferent to the Earth and the environment began to take action.
This picture book, written with insightful eyes, instills in the current generation a sense of responsibility and mission to create a better world.
Furthermore, it provides lessons to future generations to prevent another pandemic and provides them with the wisdom to live in a better world.
Let us look at this catastrophic global event anew as a record of our heritage, a legacy we must preserve for a changed present and a different future.

In the end, people are 'connected to each other and must live together', a warm awakening.

What is the power of this poem that has moved people around the world? It is "separately, yet together."
While staying at home, people were unable to see each other.
This poem, which started on social media at a time when everyone was depressed, soothed weary hearts, evoked empathy, and as people shared the poem with warm hearts to comfort others as they had been comforted themselves, hope spread like wildfire.
The hearts and minds connected through poetry ultimately prove that we all live together.
Kitty O'Meara says her poetry has been translated into countless languages, giving her new friends all over the world.
The more difficult it gets, the more we must remember to be kind and to think again about the sense of solidarity that we must overcome together.