Included in the revised 2025 3rd grade 2nd semester Korean language textbook

Operation to correct Beomsu's bad habit of cutting off the tail of a horse!

"Son, Be Serious," which has been included in elementary school Korean language textbooks for a long time and has brought joy and resonance to many children, has been republished as part of Its Book Children's "Lower Grades Love Books" series.
It was over a decade ago when the Itzbook planning team first planned and published the 'Early Child Fairy Tale Series', which served as a bridge between picture books and reading books. Now, we have brought back and published 'Son, Eat Seriously'.

Honorifics are an expression of respect and consideration for the other person.
Children who are good at using polite language, especially to adults, give the impression of being polite, which plays an important role in building good relationships at school.
It also helps develop thinking skills as well as language sense by learning various expressions appropriate to the situation.


The main character, Beomsu, has a bad habit of cutting off the tail of words.
He is often scolded for speaking rudely to his mom, dad, and even his grandmother, but he does not change at all.
Unable to bear it any longer, the mother and grandmother come up with a clever plan to break Beomsu's habit.
When Beomsu comes home from school and acts rudely and speaks informally to him as usual, his mother and grandmother speak to him formally and treat him as if he were a prince.
Beomsu feels awkward at first, but soon finds himself feeling elated.
At the supermarket where he went with his mother, Beomsu continued to speak rudely to her, and his mother began to speak politely to him. An old woman passing by scolded him harshly, and the people around him also looked at him strangely and whispered.
At the Taekwondo academy, Beomsu is very upset when other kids tease him about having a 'maid mother'.
In the end, Beomsu asks his mother and grandmother not to speak to him politely.


"Son, Please Be Serious" is the story of Beomsu, who has a bad habit of speaking, and he repents his mistakes as he experiences various things.
I hope that our children will read "Son, Be Serious" and realize that polite words and actions are the beginning of respect and consideration for others and a way to build good relationships with others.

When I got to the Taekwondo studio, the kids were already jumping rope as a warm-up.
Even though Beomsu came, not a single friend welcomed him.
When other kids come a little late, they meddle in all sorts of things, like saying they waited for me or asking why I was so late.
But the children only glanced at Beomsu and were reluctant to even talk to him.
“I’m sorry, teacher.
“Our Beomsu son is a little late, isn’t he?”
Mom greeted the teacher warmly, but the teacher looked at her with a bewildered expression.
“Huh? Oh, well…, yes.”
The teacher hesitated, not knowing whether to laugh or not at his mother's strange way of speaking, which he had never heard before.
“I had to pay my son’s tuition,
It's a little late.
sorry."
Mom handed the tuition fee to the teacher and smiled brightly at Beomsu.
“Son, please exercise hard today too.
“I’ll go first.”
"I don't know.
“Go quickly!”
Beomsu was so embarrassed by his mother that he didn't even look her in the eye.
Beomsu's face turned red as the other kids giggled and whispered.
“Choi Beom-su, what is it? Is your mother your maid?”
"I know.
“Did you see him say, ‘Son, son?’?”
When the children teased him, Beomsu couldn't stand it any longer and got angry and yelled.
“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s not it!”
"What's wrong with that? Then why am I using formal language with you? You always speak informally to your mother."
“She’s not a maid! She’s my mother!”
Beomsu's throat suddenly became choked up as he shouted.
I just burst into tears without any reason.
I thought that if my mom used honorifics to Beomsu, he would become a prince, but it turned out that my mom became a maid.

--- pp.43~46