The delightful couple of professional travelers, children's author Seon Hyeon-gyeong and cartoonist Lee Woo-il
Write on the waves, draw on the waves!
A slightly long 652-day stay in Hawaii, captured in 145 essays and over 200 illustrations.

Hawaii, a beautiful tropical island in the eastern North Pacific.
The refreshing air that makes even your booger transparent, the emerald sea that attracts surfers from all over the world, the magical waves, the cheerful hula dancing, the simple ukulele, healthy food, and the friendly people with the 'Aloha Spirit' that welcomes everyone...
The moment you open the book, the pleasant scent of Hawaii comes rushing in. 『Hawaiian』 has been published.
This is the first collaboration between children's author Seon Hyeon-gyeong and cartoonist Lee Woo-il since the publication of "Lee Woo-il and Seon Hyeon-gyeong's Honeymoon Travelogue" over twenty years ago.


One day in the fall of 2015, Seon Hyeon-gyeong and Lee Woo-il took a break from their familiar daily lives in Seoul and flew to Portland, a small city in Oregon, USA.
In October 2017, the couple left Portland and settled in yet another unfamiliar city, the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
It was the result of careful consideration that reflected the tastes of two people who couldn't stop thinking about the ocean or playing in the water.
And after enjoying the Hawaiian life for well over a year, riding the waves, writing, and painting, I finally put an end to my long trip.

Information about tourist spots and gourmet tours was left to professional guidebooks.
Instead, I carefully recorded every precious moment I spent as if I were a local or a traveler.
The essays, which contain author Seon Hyeon-gyeong's characteristically honest and profound insight, and the illustrations, which contain author Lee Woo-il's characteristically sharp humor, create an exquisite harmony.
The title 'Hawai' is a new word that was created by getting a hint from the Portuguese word 'janealar' (to window).
Just like the word ‘창문하다’ means to meet and think about the world through a window, it contains the meaning of meeting and thinking about the world through Hawaii.
In late summer 2019, the couple, who have now returned home to Seoul, are dreaming of a fun and bubbly Seoul life, including planning an exhibition of 'Aloha shirts' collected in Hawaii.

We finally have some mobility.
You can go wherever you want.
After two years of relying solely on public transportation in Portland, having a car feels like a godsend.
Yes, I will explore each and every one of the hidden gem beaches on this island.
I'll run with this car and learn to surf and dive too.
To celebrate buying a car, I headed to Walmart and Costco, places I had never been to in the two years I had lived in the US.
I decided to buy the bundled items that were too big and heavy to buy.
I bought beer by the box and also bought water and soda with confidence.
When we got home, Wooil got out and closed the front door, and the back window rolled down with a shattering sound.
I tried to flip the switch thinking that something might be loose, and the window on the other side went down as well.
From that day on, the rear window had to be pushed up by hand to close.
It became a manual window that anyone could open and close from the outside.
Locking the car became meaningless.
The next day, I tried to open the trunk by grabbing the handle, but the plastic handle crumbled limply.
--- p.25-26

Spencer, a friend of Harvey's whom I recently met, is a Japanese-Hawaiian man who is interested in Korean TV programs.
He also met her while bodyboarding, and every time they met, he would talk about “Hyori’s Inn” and “Law of the Jungle,” and he even acted out IU’s facial expressions in the drama “My Mister.”
Even though he doesn't know much about recent Korean programs, he always brings up Korean TV programs whenever he sees me.
When I'm floating on the ocean and listening to Korean programs in English, I want to throw everything away and just speak Korean.

I want to watch "My Mister" too, but it's not on Netflix or ondemandkorea (a TV program site for Koreans in the Americas).
When it ends, it will be popular somewhere.
By the way, I really can't stand Spencer's imitation of IU.
That's ridiculous.
Could it be that IU made that kind of expression!
--- p.125

I caught a cold.
Thanks to that, I was lying on the warm beach reading a book and riding a bodyboard by myself. After riding for about an hour, Wooil came up with a slightly excited expression on his face.
He reportedly hit his head on the Waikiki Wall (the boundary separating Waikiki Beach and Queens Beach).
There is light green moss on his left shoulder.
When I took off my hat, the scalp was peeled off and dangling, and blood was flowing out.
“Let’s go home.
“It’s bleeding.”
“How is it? Do you not like it very much?”
“No, it’s not deep, but the skin is cut about the size of a 500 won coin and bleeding.”
“Hey, it’s nothing.
Let's ride a little further.
“The waves are so nice today!”
It goes back into the sea, its head dangling.
It's like a zombie.
The waves were particularly good.
It is a clean wave that comes in wide and powerfully.
--- p.144

Following Eunseo's advice, I also live a daily life where I sneakily take off my bra.
When I took it off and lived, it was so comfortable and cool that I wondered how I had worn it every day.
As I changed my daily life from something I had to wear to something I could choose not to wear, I felt sorry for my chest, which had been so tight for so long.
It was such an easy and simple task, but it was a lot of hardship in a place where the air wasn't even good.
Just as there are days when I want to wear a dress and high heels, there are days when I don't want to wear a bra.
As I lived as a bra-optional person who wore it well without anyone noticing, my small breasts also started to look better.
As my small breasts improve, I also gain confidence in my body.
As I get older, I find myself falling in love with a new part of my body, and I want to thank all the women in the world who have gone braless before.
--- p.187-188

The last time he used the stove, he had memorized it and made a resolution, but when he actually thought about turning it on, he was embarrassed.
He is having a hard time because he can't remember how to use it.
Oh, this guy is so small-minded.
Find your worries like finding a ring hidden in a grain of sand.
The realistic concerns about oil heaters blow away all my vague and incomprehensible worries.
I couldn't help but laugh.
We are so different.
That's why I love this man.
One of the great things about being older is that I can write the words I love so shamelessly.

--- p.299-300