The world's attention is focused on the author Oh Se-na
The most Korean and most personal story

Author Oh Se-na was selected as the 'Illustrator of the Year' at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair for 'Iceberg' and 'Black Rabbit', and won the silver prize at the Nami Concours (Nami Island International Picture Book Illustration Contest) for 'Tetrix'.
The author, who has garnered attention with every work he has published, has now returned to readers with a message rich in Korean sentiment, along with traditional colors and pictures.
"Suddenly" is a picture book that expresses the moon, a bowl, and a landscape of longing in five colors: yellow, blue, white, red, and black.
The five cardinal colors and patterns engraved on the bowl well represent the Korean emotion of ‘longing.’


Since the works she has published so far have been on the theme of 'environment', writer Oh Se-na is also famous as an environmental writer.
However, we should not confine the writer to the frame of ‘OO writer.’
This is because the author has the power to create stories by incorporating the philosophy of life into the small and trivial things that his gaze lingers on.
"Suddenly" is another work that shows another side of author Oh Se-na, and in some ways, it is a work that shows her most private and intimate life.


A writer who subtracts, empties, and implies
So the picture book becomes more full

One of the unique things about this book is that it is perforated not only on the cover but also in the text.
The top of the rice bowl and the moon are perforated in a semicircular shape.
On the left side of the hole, the moon gradually rising over time is expressed, and on the right side of the hole, the shape of rice with a bowl of rice on top is replaced by a nostalgic landscape, props, and colors.
The perforated space is a freedom to move between this side and that side, and it is also a window that connects the moon, rice, and space.

One day, the author suddenly looked up at the moon and remembered his mother's cooking. He expressed his longing for his mother with the words 'moon' and 'food'.
The planning ability of author Oh Se-na, who came up with a work that perfectly expresses the intersection and connection between scenes in a picture book, is simply amazing.
Also, the writing, which is completed like a poem by emptying and subtracting, is full of rhythm and lingering emotions.
The author's heart is fully felt as he creates a space for readers to imagine, empathize, and share in the space he has left empty.


The moon, rice, and mom...

No matter how much I empty myself, the longing that soon rises
What is your longing?

As I was walking to the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning, thirsty, I saw the fingerprints on the wallpaper around the power switch and suddenly thought of my mother.
Mom must have turned the kitchen switch on and off countless times to prepare a warm and hearty meal for her family.
The traces remain intact on the wallpaper.
In such ordinary daily life, there are times when familiar sights, sounds, or smells suddenly remind us of someone we miss.


Author Oh Se-na's 'Suddenly' is a picture book about 'longing'.
The author sings of his longing for his mother through 'moon' and 'food'.
The sight of the waning moon gradually rising and the memories filling a bowl of rice intersect, making me realize once again the preciousness of the being who has always been by my side and filled me.

I thought it would always be there like rice, but now it has become a meal I miss.
As I happened to look up at the moon, I thought of the food my mother always cooked for me, watching over me and filling me up.

I would like to share this book with those who miss someone.
- Oh Se-na, "Author's Note"

The picture book "Suddenly", which contains the longing for someone who is no longer by your side, a longing that rises again and again no matter how much you empty it, is like a letter that author Oh Se-na sends to someone she misses.
What do you long for? As the author says, I hope that those who miss someone will find comfort and empathy through this picture book.