Library
403 graded stories in curriculum order — the next one always builds on the last.
이름 없는 영화
The Nameless Movie
An old film sits in Grandmother's box with no title on it — no famous actors, no story anyone knows, just an ordinary family. So why has she watched it a hundred times?
일 등의 비밀
The Secret of First Place
Minsu studies harder than anyone in school, yet Jiho — who never seems to open a book — always comes first on the tests. One early morning in the library, Minsu finds out why.
아버지의 한 시간
One Hour with Father
A child eats dinner alone every night while father works from dawn to dark. One quiet question at the door might turn a single ordinary evening into the hour that matters most.
어머니의 첫 인사
Mother's First Hello
Every morning Mother studies Korean at her desk, yet she won't say a single word of it in front of her own child. What is she waiting for?
노래하는 남자
The Singing Man
Every evening a man fills the subway station with an enormous voice, and a woman who loves it can never make herself stop walking — until the evening she finally does.
아침부터 저녁까지
The Whole Day's Wait
A grandmother waits at the village bus stop from dawn, watching every bus that isn't the one carrying the granddaughter she hasn't seen in far too long.
낯선 월요일
A Stranger on Monday
It's Minsu's first Monday at university, and he's lost, alone, and a little scared — until a stranger named Seoyeon notices him in the hallway.
지호가 기다린 아침
The Morning Jiho Waited
Every morning Mina waits for Jiho outside the school gate, and every morning Jiho is late. Then one rainy March morning she waits alone with no umbrella, and Jiho finally decides that tomorrow will be different.
유진의 부탁
Yujin's Favor
Tom can read Korean, but the moment his teacher calls on him the words won't come. Then his friend Yujin asks for a small favor and shows him something he never expected.
이쪽으로 오세요
Come This Way
Alone in Seoul for the very first time, a young visitor from Japan can't find her way — and can't quite hide that she's a little afraid. Then a stranger stops and points.
숙제는 나중에
Homework Can Wait
A friend from her hometown is coming for the first time in years, so Jimin scrubs her room spotless and hides the homework she never finished. But is a clean room really what her old friend came to see?
수요일의 생일
A Birthday on a Wednesday
It's Minsu's birthday, but it lands on an ordinary Wednesday, and his friends all live a village away. He waits alone in the small house, listening for a knock that may never come.
닫힌 창문
The Closed Window
On the first hot Sunday of summer, every window on the block is thrown open — except one. Behind it a neighbor is nursing a summer cold, and Ji-u thinks she knows just what he needs.
할머니 옆자리
The Seat Beside Grandmother
Mina is the smallest in the family, and the big kids keep telling her she's too little to help. Then Grandmother arrives for her birthday, and being the youngest suddenly counts for something.
할머니의 신발
Grandmother's Shoes
Grandmother can't walk anymore, and her legs ache. Her grandchild can't make her better — but there's a drawing of a walk in the park, and a pair of shoes waiting by the bed.
터진 김밥
The Gimbap That Fell Apart
A child races home from school starving and begs to eat out, but Mom insists they roll their own gimbap instead — and the very first roll bursts open along the side.
어머니의 작은 공책
Mother's Little Notebook
Every night the narrator studies alone for an exam while Mother comes home late from the company. But what is the small notebook Mother always keeps in her bag?
사과와 사과
An Apple and an Apology
A new girl sits alone by the window, and Minsu's friendly guess about where she's from comes out all wrong. Now he needs the right words, and maybe something red from his bag, to make it right.
안 예쁜 배
The Pear That Wasn't Pretty
Jiho dreads Friday art class because his drawings never come out right. When his teacher asks him to draw one pear, the crooked result ends up somewhere he never expected.
작은 가게의 큰 마음
The Kindest Price
Sujin has saved only a little for her mother's birthday. The convenience store has nothing worth giving and the perfect department-store bag costs far too much. Then she tries one small shop in her neighborhood.
엄마, 쉬세요
Rest, Mom
It is already noon and Mom is still asleep after working all week. Junsu can't cook or clean the way she does, but he is set on doing the one small thing he can.
친구가 안 보여요
Where's My Friend?
It's Yujin's first time abroad, and she barely speaks the language. A friend promised to meet her at the station with a car—but when she steps outside, no one is there.
긴 줄이 좋아요
Why I Love the Long Line
A boy dreads the long line at a crowded lunch spot; to him, waiting is the most boring part of Saturday. Then Dad invents a game to pass the time.
수영보다 좋은 것
Better Than Swimming
Everyone at Grandma's house can splash in the little pool — everyone but one girl. While her sister and brother swim, Grandma quietly finds another way to make the afternoon hers.
시계가 멈춘 날
The Day the Clock Stopped
A boy writes to his grandfather every week. When the old clock stops, Grandpa's reply says nothing about the clock at all.
오월의 자전거
The Spring I Learned to Ride
A shy child gets a blue bicycle one May and takes it to the little park nearby — until a small dog darts out, a fall follows, and riding suddenly feels impossible.
그날의 모자
The Hat from That Day
On a rainy afternoon, two small siblings fight over a worn old hat from Grandfather's closet. Then Grandfather takes it in his hands, and the quarrel turns quiet.
관광객이 아니야
Not a Tourist
The narrator has waited all year for a best friend to fly in from England, and planned the perfect day in Seoul. But Emma lands exhausted from a delayed flight, and the reunion has to become something quieter.
일월의 첫 무대
My First Stage in January
On a freezing January night, a young dancer waits backstage for her very first performance, shaking with fear. Then a few quiet words from her teacher change everything.
할머니, 들어오지 마세요
Grandma, Don't Come In
It's Grandma's birthday, and Sua is determined to cook the whole meal herself, with no help allowed. But when her tteokbokki turns out inedible, pride is the first thing she has to set aside.
이월의 사전
The Dictionary He Kept
A boy's favorite bookstore is closing this February, and he comes in looking for one thing: the worn old dictionary his father reads to pieces every day. He never expects the owner to know exactly who he is.
할머니의 산
Grandmother's Mountain
On every phone call, Yuna's grandmother says the same thing: she wants to climb her mountain one more time. Yuna flies home to Busan to take her up it — but her grandmother can no longer make the walk.
언니, 나만 봐
Just Look at Me
Every night a shy older sister shuts her door to sing where no one can hear. When a spring singing contest arrives, only her little sister knows how to get her up onto the stage.
할머니의 수박
The Last Watermelon of Summer
A big watermelon floats in cold water under grandmother's tree, but she won't let anyone eat it today. As the summer sky clouds over, a child waits to find out why.
열쇠 없는 밤
Locked Out
Past midnight, Jiho drags himself up to his boarding-house room wanting only his bed. Then he reaches into his pocket and finds the key is gone.
콩이가 온 뒤로
My Furry Alarm Clock
Every dawn, a small puppy named Kong-i refuses to let the narrator sleep in. She resents the early wake-ups until one worrying week makes her see her mornings, and Kong-i, completely differently.
민수의 축구화
The Shoes Stay Home
Minsu has one big game left tomorrow, and a foot he hurt but told no one about. When the pain won't stop, a doctor in glasses gives him news he doesn't want to hear.
새 구두와 갈비
New Shoes and Short Ribs
This July she finally brings her boyfriend home to meet her parents. He trades his sneakers for new dress shoes, her mom fires up the galbi, and her quiet father says nothing at all.
저도 자주 그래요
It Happens to Me Too
One August afternoon at a neighborhood café, a customer recognizes a famous actor sitting alone with his coffee, until one clumsy moment turns a bit of quiet star-spotting into a memory she can't shake.
선생님의 책
The Teacher's Book
Weeks from graduating and still without a job, a college student goes back to her old school to find the one teacher who always believed in her.