Should I do it? Should I not do it? Should I go? Should I not do it?
When you are worried
Just give it a try!

There are times when I feel lost and don't know what to do.
Even among children who are learning Hangul for the first time, there are some who immediately become reluctant and try to run away when you open their study book and tell them to study Hangul.
If you think about it carefully, it could very well be so.
Without knowing why they need to learn, children who are presented with a Korean language learning material as a task to learn will find this unfamiliar world unfamiliar and frightening.
But what if that unfamiliar and frightening world were also a place filled with fun and new adventures? The picture book "Dancing Ganadara" takes children on a journey into that unfamiliar world.
Even when learning new numbers, making new friends, experiencing a new culture, or trying a new food, the picture book "Dancing the Korean Alphabet" helps children find clarity and simplicity in the face of these conflicts. Through the protagonist, Gi-yeok, the book encourages them to "just give it a try."


Daldal Books' fifth picture book, "Dancing Ganadara," motivates children learning Hangul for the first time to enjoy it, supports them in their challenges in new worlds, jobs, and relationships, and encourages them to overcome limitations and move forward.
The magical story of the protagonist 'Gi-yeok', who was shunned in the country of consonants, meeting friends from the country of vowels who warmly hold his hand, unfolds through the beautiful illustrations of artist Kang Hye-sook.

Teaching Hangul to children who do not speak Korean

"Dancing Ganadara" is a picture book about the author's experience teaching Korean to children of Korean immigrants, children from multicultural families, and foreigners who do not know Korean at all while running the "Kongseal Library" in Cebu, Philippines, and dancing and playing with them.


How should people who don't know Korean, who are unfamiliar with Hangul, learn Hangul? How can they make it stick in their heads without having to memorize it? After much thought, I created the "Dancing Ganadara" dance.
The dance showed that vowels and consonants come together to form letters.
By visualizing and singing complex theories, the children were able to easily recall the letters through this simple dance.
Because it's something you learn with your body, like riding a bicycle.
Now, I will share that experience through a picture book.


So is this a book you only look at when learning Korean?

Please do not define 『Dancing Ganadara』 as a Korean language study book.
If you read this picture book before learning Hangul, you may become interested in Hangul.
But this book actually focuses more on encouraging challenges in a new world and the process of overcoming and solving difficult problems.
When children who are inexperienced in relationships or who face difficult problems hesitate, falter, and waver, the main character of this picture book, Giyeok, will surely warmly hold their hand and help them navigate the difficult times.


The brilliant imagination of author Kang Hye-sook

『Dancing Ganadara』 originally started as a story about King Sejong.
It was the writer's idea to compose a musical-like process of letters emerging from the bars of King Sejong's imagination, becoming words and sentences.
However, the text of the picture book becomes a completely new story when combined with Kang Hye-sook's illustrations.
Now, with the keyboard in every home around the world, imaginations are running wild.
What if we could capture this magical moment, when the keys on a keyboard connect with our fingers, and letters appear on the monitor, in the form of a picture book? In this way, King Sejong's bars evolved into a keyboard layout, forming a cotton pad.
This book, where the narrative of the pictures creates a new world on top of the narrative of the story, is clearly a picture book for children today.