(1) K-3 Illustrated by Hanna Cha. In this picture book set in 1950, Kyung lives with her family in a seaside house in the southeastern Korean coastal city of Busan. As the North Korean and Chinese militaries push south, many families begin to flee toward Busan. Kyung's parents take several of these refugees in, giving them shelter and safety. The girl shares her home, food, parents' attention, and sleeping mat, which she tolerates but becomes increasingly annoyed about. She eventually learns grace and perspective: "visitors are not stones we can toss into the sea. They are people, our neighbors, to help and to love." Cha's illustrations pay exquisite attention to the beauty of the seaside landscape, using color to intensify the experience of being near the ocean. Vibrant greens and blues swirl, producing the feeling of an ever-moving sea, while wheaty shades of tan create sand and scrub, all of which contrast with the darkness of a makeshift air raid shelter where women and children hide. This gorgeously illustrated book contains beautiful turns of phrase and metaphors ("we sat like two quiet hills, the breeze combing through our hair"). It's a touching homage to the author's own grandparents' heroism, which also offers rare insight into complex feelings about personal sacrifice and witnessing the suffering of others. A glossary is appended, and author and illustrator notes provide historical context.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(1) PS A striking die-cut paper-over-board cover, vertical orientation (with spine at the top of the book), and adventurous use of white space are only some of the characteristics that make this South Korean import so thrilling. The setting is established through a very brief text on the opening spread. "So much snow. It is starting to snow. I've never seen the snow fall like this. There's so much. So much snow!" From here the book is wordless; Park manipulates viewers' perspectives and expectations through the creative placement of two sweater-clad figures across snow-filled double-page spreads. The pair emerges from their snowed-under chalet and, through a combination of extensive digging and plowing, tunnel their way to the top of the deep snow. Comedy ensues in the form of an escalating snowball fight, along with what appear to be scenes of the duo struggling to push an invisible object across the blank white pages. Subsequent page-turns depict the pair taking a selfie in front of seemingly empty space and hauling a large triangular object up a tall ladder. A vertical gatefold reveals their humorous goal: to create a skyscraper-sized snowman. Park's digital illustrations confidently feature only two colors, yellow and blue; however, the use of nondelineated white to represent both positive space (such as a white snowball partially covering a character) and negative space (snowy backgrounds) in the same scenes creates an exciting visual dissonance that necessitates careful examination and rewards rereading. This boldly graphic picture book is as sophisticated as it is fun...and very cool.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) YA After receiving feedback that her performance lacks spark, seventeen-year-old cellist Jenny Go decides to heed her uncle's advice and "live a little." Jenny, very uncharacteristically, goes on a one-night adventure at and around the L.A. Korean Festival with cute, mysterious Jaewoo, who is visiting from Korea. Soon after, she bargains to accompany her mother on her visit to Seoul to care for Jenny's grandmother, who has colon cancer; while they're there, Jenny will study at the prestigious Seoul Arts Academy. In addition to reconnecting with her roots, she finds that Jaewoo also attends the school--and is the lead singer of the famous K-pop group XOXO. Despite his packed schedule and the school's strict rules, they fall for each other. Oh treats readers to a whirlwind romance with all the hallmarks of a K-drama (forbidden romance, betrayal, illness). The author's obvious love of K-pop is contagious, and the glimpse into idol culture makes for a primarily breezy, enjoyable read. Depictions of ordinary student and family life in Korea, and the natural integration of Korean words and phrases in conversation, invite readers to explore Korean food, language, and culture.

Reviewer: Gabi K. Huesca | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) PS A young Korean American boy travels across the ocean to visit his grandfather in South Korea. Everything is strange there. "It smells strange. It sounds strange." Grandpa speaks an unfamiliar language and eats food that the child doesn't want to eat. The boy is not happy. "Grandpa's house is the most boring place on earth!" But some time spent together proves him wrong. Grandpa laughs when watching cartoons and loves chocolate ice cream. He's a great singer, and also a troublemaker--just like his grandson! Now, everything is familiar. The child can understand Grandpa's language and eat Grandpa's food. And he can't wait to be back next summer. In this sweet and funny story, Yum (Saturday Is Swimming Day, rev. 7/18; I Am a Bird, rev. 1/21) explores the grandparent-grandchild relationship and shows how barriers of language, culture, distance, and age are overcome through the creation of shared memories and finding commonality. The straightforward text is easily accessible, and the colored-pencil illustrations are bright and vibrant. Faithful representations of street scenes and food culture in South Korea invite readers from the same background to connect personally with the visual narrative while allowing others to experience something new. The front and back endpapers also include a wealth of detail and provide a visual summary of the story.

Reviewer: Weileen Wang | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(3) YA To improve her chances of Ivy League admittance, Ji-Su's parents send her from South Korea to San Francisco for senior year, where she must also continue attending seons, or arranged dates. Though initially resentful, Ji-Su enjoys American life--including the attention from two different guys. The international-student perspective and glimpse into Korean culture distinguishes this breezy story from other genre titles.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Keum Jin Song. In 2016, South Korean church members, originally refugees from North Korea, sent rice bags attached to helium balloons to North Korea to feed starving people. In this fictionalized story, a girl tries to convince other children who feel North Koreans are "the enemy" to join the effort. Slick digital illustrations contrast the lush South Korean countryside with barren North Korea. Includes extensive background material. Reading list.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Living in... series. Illustrated by Tom Woolley. A young boy in modern South Korea walks us through a day in his life, sharing tidbits of Korean history, geography, and culture along the way. Friendly digital illustrations accompany an engaging beginning-reader text, which provides a level-appropriate amount of information on topics such as tae kwon do, special food for the harvest festival, and the 2018 Winter Olympics. Additional facts are appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA When Winter Kim (Vicarious) learns that her sister is dead, vengeance becomes her life. Her quest to find family and kill the perpetrator takes her from St. Louis to Seoul. Infiltrating her enemy's corporation only creates more danger, forcing Winter to decide between battling the past or living in the present. Stokes's thriller offers a diverse cast of characters and a few good plot twists.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) K-3 Countries We Come From series. In a visually attractive but superficial introductory series, each volume begins with fairly vague descriptive words (e.g., "Colorful," "Busy," "Beautiful") paired with bright photos. A smattering of facts about geography, animals, history, language, jobs, culture, and food follow, accompanied by engaging photos. The great geographic and ethnic diversity of many of these countries is barely mentioned. "Fast facts" appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Countries We Come From titles: The Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, and South Korea.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Big Brands series. This series provides insight into the workings of four mega-corporations. Each book presents a brief history of the company's founding and struggles encountered on its way to success. Operational procedures and key individuals involved in creating the "household" brand are discussed. Photographs, statistics, quotes from company leaders, and even a few trade secrets add interest, but the busy design is distracting. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Big Brands titles: Minecraft, McDonald's, Samsung, and Amazon.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Korean American teen Jae Hwa thinks moving to South Korea is the worst of her problems; then she learns that, due to a family curse, a dangerous demigod is trying to steal her soul. She must rely on a handsome classmate and her own strength to escape the fate that befell her ancestors. The quick-moving plot sacrifices depth, but the hook keeps readers engaged. Glos.

Reviewer: Siena Leslie

(3) 4-6 Kallen explains that South Korean K-Pop is not just Psy's "Gangnam Style": "K-Pop artists have been performing and recording...since the 1990s." The book then chronologically describes the artists (and record labels) that made K-Pop successful. It's a comprehensive introduction to the genre, accompanied by well-chosen stock photos and sidebars; a playlist of recommended songs concludes each chapter. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) 4-6 Countries in Our World series. These volumes provide very general introductions to their title countries. Topics include geographical, economic, environmental, cultural, and political issues, positive and negative, faced by the citizens; useful spreads look ahead to 2020. Abundant photographs (of varying relevance) and sidebars highlight important facts and people. The volumes will be quickly dated. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Countries in Our World titles: Israel in Our World, Japan in Our World, Pakistan in Our World, and South Korea in Our World.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(4) YA Modern World Leaders series. This series, both historical and biographical in nature, challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership by placing the featured statesman in historical context. Childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology combine with captioned photographs to provide a well-researched, albeit densely written, perspective on the United Nations's eighth secretary-general. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) YA Modern World Leaders series. This series, part history and part biography, challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership by placing the featured individual in a historical context. Each title includes childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology. Captioned photographs provide additional perspectives and break up the intimidatingly dense texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Ehud Olmert, Felipe Calderón, Roh Moo Hyun, and Kim Jong Il.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) 4-6 Countries of the World series. Vibrant photographs and clearly labeled maps are the real strengths of this series. Overview presentations of geography, natural resources, and anthropological information make these books solid supplemental purchases (the material on history and controversial contemporary issues, such as the Iraq War, is a little sketchier). Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Countries of the World titles: India, South Korea, and Iraq.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) 4-6 Visual Geography series. Color photographs, maps, and sidebars combine with a dry but informative text to provide a comprehensive study of the geography, history, government, people, culture, and economy of the featured country. A website maintained by the publisher offers additional up-to-date information for the report-driven reader. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these titles: North Korea in Pictures, South Korea in Pictures, Turkey in Pictures, and Lebanon in Pictures.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) 4-6 Culture In... series. Coverage of majority and minority cultures, and their traditional and current customs, clothing, and arts, combined with clear photos, make these books stand out from the many general country series. The page layout is sometimes too busy, and readers may need more historical context to understand some of the cultural phenomena mentioned in these volumes. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Culture In... titles: China, Indonesia, Japan, North & South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Checkerboard: The Countries series. Each of these country studies discusses history, geography, people, and culture. The short, choppy sentences give report writers some basic information about each country's present-day economy, government, holidays, food, and language. Photos, charts, maps, and text boxes fill out the cursory treatment. "Fast facts," recipe, timeline. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Checkerboard: The Countries titles: The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.]

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) K-3 Welcome to My Country series. These books all follow the same formula in content and layout--one or two pages per topic with a captioned illustration on each page. Topics include geography, history, and several aspects of the cultures. Coverage is broad but reasonably current; Iraq touches on the end of Saddam Hussein's reign. Map, reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Welcome to My Country titles: Welcome to Afghanistan, Welcome to Sri Lanka, Welcome to Pakistan, Welcome to South Korea, Welcome to Iraq, and Welcome to Malaysia.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr