“There is no ‘right answer’ to child education,” says author Lee Ji-young in her new book, “A Mother’s Belief.”
A 10-Year Family Journey, Saved Up for Private Korean, English, and Math Tuition
"Beautiful fragments of stories we saw, heard, and grew together on a family trip."

The writer was a person who felt stability in a repetitive daily routine of always doing the same thing in the same place.
An essay on overseas travel by a writer who has never traveled abroad, let alone domestically.
It's unexpected, but that's why all the experiences and emotions contained in the book are more vivid and precious.


There is no parent who does not know that it is important for children to have a wide world and a wide range of experiences.
But our children are thrown into competition the moment they step out the door.
They have to study harder than other kids, get better grades, and struggle to build up better qualifications.
Parents pour money into private education in this silent war.
"Seattle Instead of Private Tutoring, Prague Instead of Private Lessons" contains the author's 10-year travelogue of overseas travel, in which he chose family travel over private tutoring, believing that there is no right answer when it comes to child education.
The author lovingly introduces fragments from her travels to the United States, Thailand, China, France, the Czech Republic, and Hong Kong with her husband and two daughters.


During the teenage years, the most important period in a child's life, the children grew up together in various parts of the world, eating local food, walking the streets, and experiencing trial and error. As a result, the author also grew.
Looking at the "salmon steps" of the Columbia River hydroelectric power plant in the United States, I personally realize that you can struggle upstream and still end up standing still, but if it's worth it, you have to keep swimming, even if it means being pushed a little.
At the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, you will encounter the painful history of other countries and become interested in history.
It is through travel that I have learned the truth of life that can never be learned by being taught at home or at school.

"Seattle Instead of Academy, Prague Instead of Private Tutoring" doesn't contain detailed travel information or attractive photos like other travel books.
But there are beautiful stories of them focusing entirely on each other and spending every moment of their trip together.
If you glimpse a family growing together, experiencing a world wider than private education, you'll find yourself searching for travel destinations and imagining yourself going on a trip together, filled with happiness.

As my children grow, my hands and eyes become more and more free.
There comes a time when you're allowed to go to the airport bathroom alone, and there comes a time when you're told to stay put in your hotel room and wait while I get you some water.
These days, not only do they not hold the children's hands very well (though they do hold them out of affection, not for safety reasons), they also do not look back to see if they are following them properly.
I now have the leisure to fully appreciate the sea and the mountains, and savor the food while eating.
And sometimes, we are protected by our children, such as when they pull us in dangerous moments.
--- p.
22

We took a quiet picture in front of Bella's house and Edward's house.
And in the school parking lot too.
If you think about it rationally, it's a strange thing to take a picture in a place where there's nothing but parking lines.
But if you give it meaning, there can be no such thing as a strange photo.
Just as you can hear laughter in a photo of only the ocean, and see your mother in a photo of only flowers, there are stories hidden in photos that cannot be seen.
Only those who were there at the moment the photo was taken know the secret.
I was with Edward and Bella in an asphalt parking lot with marked parking lines.
--- p.
88

Once we got inside the island, there was nothing to do.
I wanted to go inside the statue, but the kids were too tired to go inside the boat, or maybe they were just at an age where they wanted to experience things and have fun.
Ha… Children have no interest in things that have ‘meaning’.
No matter how hard I tried to explain that this was a gift from France to the United States, and that it was so large that the head, torso, arms, and legs came separately and were then joined together, it was just my own learning.
Kids only realized where that chubby giant lady with ice cream and newspaper in her hand had been when she appeared in countless movies, but back then, wasn't she just as good as a dinosaur statue?
--- p.
100

I arrived in front of the provisional government with half anticipation and half curiosity.
I bought a ticket at the building next door and entered the entrance to the Shanghai Provisional Government site.
I think all Koreans, regardless of age or gender, will feel moved.
Because it is connected to existence.
My existence, my children's existence, all of us are in no way unrelated to what happened here.
--- p.
157

When you think of 'Montmartre Hill', a painter wearing a bread-and-butter hat naturally comes to mind.
(Isn't the word 'beret' more familiar than its original name?) I peeked my head through the crowd of people and saw the painters and paintings at work.
Just because a painting isn't displayed in a fancy building doesn't mean it's of a lower quality.
There were so many works of art that I wanted to look at for a long time, from paintings of such different styles and materials, to small frames and paintings so large that they were burdensome.
I was desperate to buy it, but I knew that my house was far from minimalist, that no matter how many wonderful pieces I brought in, there was no room to increase its value, so I just swallowed my saliva.
--- p.
186

The children have grown up so much.
It is difficult to notice changes and growth in children in the same daily routine.
It is difficult to look at children objectively in a household where every day is the same.
Through travel, I often feel that I know things I didn't know, that I can do things I couldn't do, and that the topics, methods, and level of conversation change.
It doesn't have to be an overseas trip.
It is possible if you get out of the house and get away from your daily routine.
But the more unfamiliar places we go, the more the meaning of family seems to resonate with us.
Because in a place where no one cares about us, where no one knows us, we are precious and valuable to each other.
Since there is no one else to talk to but each other, you have to be a good partner with your husband, and your children also realize that there is no one else to understand and fill in their shortcomings except their parents.
So we recall each of our journeys like this:
It was a truly happy 'Happy Together' because we were together.

--- pp.
323~324