I am so excited to share with you, the cover of the Korean version of “The House Before Falling Into the Sea”! There are a few key alterations in this publication. For starters, my Korean name, 석영주, Suk Youngchu, will be used! I can’t even explain how meaningful this is, for this only child.

The back matter or extra non-fiction information section is robust, incredibly informative, and well-written by an editor at Prooni.com, the Korean publisher. (It was an education for me!)

Finally, the obvious difference is that it’s completely in Korean. Some may see this as simply a translation, but I see it as a more in-depth opportunity for multiple generations to share their story with each other. Whether nine-years-old or 90, English speaking or only able to read Korean, now families can talk about what the war and the following decades were like (how a family came to be, how hard things turned to hopeful ones, how there was beauty amidst the mess, how struggles lead to opportunity, how past pains still need healing…)

It’s surprising but true, that a picture book can gently nudge a memory into the open. It’s important to capture these before they’re lost with the passing of our elders. I believe that having an English and Korean version will help bridge some generational gaps. Every tool we can use to encourage intergenerational communication and understanding is certainly worth our attention.

So if you go to Korea or know someone who is, tell them to pick up a copy (I’ll send you signed personalization bookplate, if you’d like.) Or take a photo with the book in the wild and share it with me.

Look out for it this year, shortly before Yugio or 6/25, the start of the war (75th anniversary this year.)

May this story encourage you to keep collecting and sharing your precious family stories from all over the world; they made you who you are!