The story begins
Lamp Black
Paines Gray
Windsor Violet
sepia
Khaki
Midnight Blue
Sap Green
absinthe
Dutch orange
yellow gold

Author Interview

Challenge Blue, my own sky color that moves from the deep night to the unknown dawn.

gradation.
The dictionary definition is to make one side darker and the other side gradually lighter when coloring. A similar word is gradation.
Neul, Yeoul, Haemi, Ugeum, and Su are names related to rivers, the sea, or water.
The word 'Ire', meaning seven days, signifies the time we live in.
Water flows from valleys to rivers and then to the sea, where it can be absorbed by tree roots, drunk by animals, or become clouds.
Ultimately, if we combine the names of the characters, we can infer that our lives, like water, do not know where they will end up, and do not settle on a specific goal, but rather change in various ways like a gradation.

In the story of Aunt Yeoul and Ugeum, Yeoul ran away to another country right before her wedding, and in the process, she was conflicted, worried, and regretful.
And just as fallen leaves in a river surrender themselves to the flow of water, the two people who had quietly surrendered their lives on the path of time met again as if it were true fate and destiny, and accepted the time that had passed.
Soo told Barim that the name of the 'sky color that goes from night to dawn' was 'Challenge Blue', and thought, "If we're going to make it, wouldn't it be better to make it a little more vibrant blue, as it signifies the start of the day?
“It would be nice to have more colors to express the world,” he says.
And to Barim, “I will continue to wait for you.
“No matter what choice you make, I will be there,” he says.

Barim was envious of Haemi and Ire as they decided on their own paths and worked hard.
But in fact, they too were worried about their uncertain future.
Everyone has a dream.
And for that dream, we worry, challenge ourselves, and sometimes regret it.


To 'us' who are hurt by the pressure of schoolwork, dreams, and the future
A message of healing and encouragement from Lee Hee-young, author of "Paint."

Barim frowns when Soo mentions 'Challenge Blue' as the new name for 'the color of the sky that goes from night to dawn.'
Words like challenge and achievement were so suffocating that even the mere thought of them made her suffocate. (p. 178) Baram, who had slipped on an icy road and hurt her hand, actually wore slippers on slippery floors even though she knew she could get hurt, and when she fell, she deliberately put her right hand on the ground.
Even if we only look at the Monday blues that adults experience or the new semester syndrome that children experience due to psychological burden, it would be difficult to criticize Barim's behavior as self-harm.
Not only young people, but many people living in Korean society will feel like racehorses running toward "challenge and achievement," swayed by the carrot of "their own happy future" and the whip of "ability, tests, and competition."
So, paradoxically, the author did not conclude with Barim overcoming adversity and achieving success.

A challenge doesn't necessarily mean moving forward.
Sometimes, standing still is another challenge.
Even though it is the same sky, night and dawn feel completely different.
Every challenge in the world requires courage, and having courage is a challenge in itself.
Barim finally realized the truth.

This sentence may read as a cliché.
For another example, we know that a person who accumulates virtue internally and studies the principles of things externally to benefit the world is a 'gentleman'.
But becoming a gentleman is not an easy task.
In her recommendation, Kim Min-ryeong also said, “In short, there is a world that can only be encountered by stopping.
“We all need these moments, even if we’re not confused teenagers,” he wrote.
In "Challenge Blue," the author argues that if you've decided to do something yourself, it's not just the challenge of achieving your goal, but also the courage to look back on the present that's truly remarkable.