For Grandma's spring to come again

The grandmother discovered a hole in the mother-of-pearl chest from which a faint light was streaming out.
It seemed as if there were things he had lost in that hole.
The grandmother climbed into the hole without hesitation.
Beyond the hole lay a dense forest.
There were beautiful trees standing there, boasting lush leaves and looking like they had lived for quite some time.
The birds that had been carved into the mother-of-pearl door a moment ago were flying around, chattering, and deer were running briskly.


Let's go a little further into the forest. There was the spring of my grandmother's youth, a time she had forgotten, fresh and green.
It was a spring that was soft like young leaves and sparkling like dew.
But there were days when we had to endure torrential rain and fierce winds.
Grandma watched the seasons pass by indifferently, and rolled up the thread she was holding.
Grandma began knitting again, using the yarn that had been loosely and softly wrapping around her.
It has been carefully compiled with countless experiences and wisdom.
Joy and comfort were not left out either.
It was a precious legacy left to our descendants who will each live their own lives in the future.


The grandmother, who felt relieved about everything, put down roots in the ground.
Winter had arrived before we knew it, and the soft snow covered Grandma warmly.
The grandmother tree fell asleep for a while to prepare for the coming spring.
When will spring come to Grandma again? And what will Grandma's tree look like when spring comes?

If we remember that we are connected by roots to our grandmothers,

"Grandmother Tree" is a work that depicts the story of how the death of a grandmother is not simply extinction, but how she continues to live and breathe by being connected to other lives as roots. It won an award at the "2nd Daewon Buddhist Academic and Content Contest" hosted by the Korea Buddhist Promotion Institute.

The author, Seok-jeong Seo, began writing this story as she felt that her grandmother's death was imminent, as she was approaching her ninety years of age.
I thought of the story of a grandmother who lives only at home, like a tree planted indoors, passing on the experiences and wisdom she has gained over the years to her descendants and waiting for the next spring.
Through this story, author Seok Jeong-jeong wanted to convey the message that death and separation are not the end for us, that every single part of my grandmother's life was precious and beautiful, and that her love will live on forever, connected to her descendants.

Artist Youngji Jo, who drew the picture, brought the grandmother in my story to life by drawing a warm and affectionate grandmother.
It vividly portrays a space that I always miss, like my grandmother's room, and fantastically depicts a beautiful forest where countless grandmother trees are alive and breathing.
The scene of delicate and elegant mother-of-pearl lacquerware carved into a mother-of-pearl cabinet is sure to leave viewers in awe.

The story that these two authors have completed together is a story for all grandmothers and all their descendants in the world.
The death of a person never means separation and extinction.
Because the love and sacrifices my grandmother gave to her family while she was alive, and all the moments we shared together, will never fade away.
And if we remember that those moments will live and breathe for a long time, connected by strong roots between our hearts, then the partings we have already experienced and the partings that are coming may be a little less sad.


I hope that all grandmothers who go on a picnic to the forest like the grandmother in the picture book “Grandmother Tree” will find peace, and that all grandmothers in this world will happily continue the remaining seasons.