A story that lights a warm light in a child's heart
The first Changbi Picture Book Award winner, "Daddy, My Sea"

The Changbi Picture Book Award, which began in 2023, is a contest established by Changbi to breathe new life into Korean picture books and encourage the creative desire of picture book authors.
Among the 704 entries submitted to the first Changbi Picture Book Award, “Daddy, My Sea” was selected as an honorable mention. It is a picture book that depicts the process of creating one’s own world while thinking of a father who always gave unwavering love even though they were far away. “It is novel in that it shows a child observing the adult world and growing beyond it.
It received favorable reviews, saying, “The story of a young girl who finds her own path will be remembered for a long time.”
The story gently and warmly depicts a child who finds comfort in spending time filled with parental love, imagining how to endure lonely times, and moving forward.

"Daddy, My Sea" is a true story that stems from the author's childhood experiences of waiting for her father to return home once a year, cherishing a notebook full of her father's drawings like a treasure, and carrying a doll she received as a gift around until it fell apart.
The times that served as a strong support for the author during those times are beautifully portrayed through the imagination of the protagonist in “Daddy, My Sea.”
"Daddy, My Sea," which depicts the protagonist sailing with the sea stories told by his father as a compass in his heart, adds depth to the emotion as it contains the author's lighthouse-like heart that wants to warmly embrace the loneliness of children.


“A story told by my father, a ‘sailor’ who has lived half his life on the water
Thanks to stories about the sea, I, as a child, began to dream of an unknown world.

I stayed warm while waiting for my dad while he was at sea.
I want to tell you that my dad was always there for me while I was growing up.

“I dedicate this book to my father, who helped me grow into an adult who cherished dreams rather than longing.” _Author’s Note

“Where the waves dance, to the far, far end of the sea.
“I will follow my father and go out into the wide world.”
A child who discovers his own world with the love of his parents as vast as the ocean.

"Daddy, My Sea" begins with a child's voice telling a story about the sea told by his father, a sailor.
The child waits for his father, who has been out working at sea for a long time, to return.
Whenever I feel a surge of longing for my father, I take out the gifts he brought me from the sea and look at them to soothe my loneliness.
Suddenly, the child becomes curious about the other world beyond the sea that his father told him about.
The child puts his hands together and puts them to his ears, listening to the sound of the sea, just as his father taught him.
Soon, the child follows the sound and freely moves across the blue sea, experiencing a special journey as if sailing the sea with his father.
The child realizes the longing and love his father held across the sea through his father's trajectory.
The child, who has come to know why the colorful shells and sparkling stones his father brought him smelled so warm, like his father, and why the sea that seemed so far away was actually the path his father had walked his entire life, uses that strength to create his own sea.
A father's love, which always conveys the same love even when he is not around, becomes the strength that helps a child find his own path in reality.


A warm imagination that comforts children's hearts
A moment of growth unfolds for rising new writer Lee Kyung-ah.

"Daddy, My Sea" is a picture book that highlights author Lee Kyung-ah's warm gaze that relieves the lonely heart of a child with warm imagination.
Born and raised in Busan, the artist vividly depicts the vast ocean with a bold and vibrant style, and creates a vast imaginary world by delicately connecting stories that move between reality and fantasy.
The colorful seascapes, painted with bold brushstrokes and intense colors, such as the cool sea breeze, white waves crashing, and the sunlight rising over the horizon, empower the imagination inherent in children who are growing up strong on their own.
The refreshing colors that comfort the child who is trying to move forward without being overcome by loneliness, combined with the solid world the child is building, will gently embrace the hearts of readers who are going through their own deep nights.


Judges' comments

The fresh and innocent drawing style is attractive.
The bold screen direction shows that the writer has a broad and solid vision.
What is novel is that it shows children observing the adult world and growing beyond it.
The young girl protagonist who finds her own way will be remembered for a long time.

Kim Ji-eun (children's literature critic), Kim Dong-su (picture book writer), Changbi

★ Curriculum linkage

1-1 Summer 1.
We are family
1-2 Korean ㉯ Imagine the character's words and actions
2-1 Korean ㉮ Share your feelings
2-1 Korean ㉯ 11.
Spread your wings of imagination
2-2 Korean ㉮ 4.
Guess the character's mind