A fun and engaging picture book that addresses the serious problem of marine pollution.

A while ago, there was a video that shocked people around the world.
It was a sea turtle discovered on an island in the Pacific Ocean.
The sea turtle had a plastic straw stuck in its nose, something people used to drink from.
The sea turtle was suffering because it couldn't breathe properly due to the straw, and when the straw was removed, many people shed tears and felt guilty when they saw it bleeding.
Also, a dead whale recently found off the coast of Spain had 29 kilograms of plastic waste in its stomach.
In Korea, more than 50 pieces of marine debris were found in the stomach of a dead sea turtle found in Jeju Island.
Not only that, dolphins have been caught swimming with plastic bags hanging from their fins, and skates have been caught with their stomachs full of discarded plastic.


The ocean, home to countless marine creatures, is in grave danger because of us humans.
This is because a lot of trash created by humans is being dumped into the ocean.
In our country alone, 180,000 tons of marine debris are generated every year, and worldwide, more than 8 million tons of debris flows into the ocean every year.
The biggest problem among these wastes is plastic waste, such as disposable cups, PET bottles, plastic bags, and various packaging materials.
It is one of the things we use most in our daily lives.
Because plastic does not decompose over time, it floats around the ocean and becomes food for starving marine animals.
Marine debris is a serious environmental problem that can no longer be ignored.

"Grandma's Dragon Palace Journey" is a picture book that addresses the serious problem of marine debris through an entertaining story and delightful images.
The story of a female diver who encounters all kinds of marine life in the ocean provides an interesting look at the severity of the problem of marine waste.
We anticipate that this picture book will raise awareness of the seriousness of marine debris and spark interest not only among children but also among adult readers.

Utilizing elements of old tales to enhance dramatic fun and completeness.

"Grandma's Dragon Palace Journey" enhances the dramatic fun by utilizing the story structure and characters of the old tale "Byeoljubujeon," familiar to readers.
The scene where the flatfish tricks the grandmother into taking him to the Dragon Palace to save the sick Dragon King Turtle, and the scene where he demands the grandmother's liver, provide readers with familiar fun.
But the following scene has a fun twist that is different from the original story.
Unlike the rabbit in 'The Tale of the Stars' who tricked the dragon king and sea animals and came back to land, the grandmother scolded the sea animals, saying, 'What are you talking about! You're talking nonsense.'
The grandmother's shouts, which seem to subdue the dragon king and sea animals who deceived her, are also refreshing to the viewers.

Another twist awaits us: the reason the Dragon King Turtle is sick.
When you see a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose, you feel so sorry for it that you just want to help it.
Since the main character is a female diver, the fact that it parodies the old tale "Byeoljubujeon" featuring various sea animals in an ocean setting adds to the fun and completeness of this picture book.

Bringing the story to life with the language of life, dialect, and spoken language.

In "Grandma's Dragon Palace Journey," the main character is a female diver from Gyeongsang Province, who tells her granddaughter about a miraculous experience she had one day underwater.
Normally, children's books use standard Korean, but in this picture book, the Gyeongsang-do grandmother's dialect and spoken language were preserved as is.
This is because I wanted to fully portray the character of a blunt but deep-hearted grandmother who has lived her entire life diving in the rough seas.
When Grandma talks nonsense, she yells at the sea animals like thunder, but when she treats each sick animal, she comforts them with warmth and care, and speaks words of concern more than anyone else.
In common parlance, she is a total 'tsundere' grandmother.

Especially when you read the text out loud, you can fully feel the strength of the grandmother who has lived her entire life doing material things.
Also, it feels more realistic to hear the grandmother's voice telling us how pitiful and sad the sea animals are.
Moreover, it will be a great opportunity for young readers from other regions who are not familiar with the Gyeongsang dialect to experience diverse regional cultures and develop linguistic sensitivity.

Teachers publish picture books they want to read with their children.

Author Kwon Min-jo was born in a coastal village in Gyeongsang Province and teaches children at an elementary school.
She had always loved picture books and dreamed of becoming a writer, so she began studying picture books because she wanted to create books that she would want to read with the children in her class.
Last year, I studied picture books at the Picture Book Imagination Picture Book School, traveling between Seoul and Gyeongsang Province. "Grandma's Journey to the Dragon Palace" is my first picture book.

Although elementary school teachers have often worked as children's storytelling writers or picture book writers, they have rarely collaborated with other teachers to create original picture books.
What is particularly noteworthy is that, despite not having majored in art, the author created a picture book with such high-quality images.
The strong-willed grandmother and the various sea animals' character directing, as well as the colorful and bold screen composition, are all outstanding.
Additionally, the somewhat heavy and timely topic of 'marine debris' was expressed in an exciting and lively way.
This is a promising new picture book author who will continue to produce a variety of works in the future.