'Gureumbbang' Baek Heena Wins World's Largest Children's Literature Author Award

Received the Astrid Lindgren Award from the Swedish Government
"A story about solitude and solidarity, conveyed sensually, thrillingly, and sharply"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] Baek Hee-na (49), the author of the picture book "Cloud Bread," became the first Korean to receive the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest award for children's literature authors. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award jury announced Baek as this year's winner on the 31st (local time). Regarding the selection, they stated, "She conveys stories about loneliness and solidarity in a sensory, thrilling, and sharp manner."

This award is known as the Nobel Prize of children's literature. It was established in 2002 by the Swedish government to honor the spirit of Astrid Lindgren (1907?2002), the fairy tale author famous for "Pippi Longstocking." This year, 240 children's literature authors from 67 countries were nominated. The prize money is $500,000 (approximately 612 million KRW). Originally, this year's winner was to be announced at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, the event was postponed, and Lindgren's grandson announced the winner from his home.

The book that brought honor to Baek is undoubtedly "Cloud Bread." It is her first original picture book warmly depicting family love through childlike imagination. She charmingly expressed this process using three-dimensional dolls and props. Instead of drawing pictures like other authors, she created dolls to fit the story, made sets and props, and took photographs. In 1997, while studying in the U.S., she revisited dolls she had forgotten to ease her loneliness, which naturally influenced her picture book work.

Baek was selected as the Illustrator of the Year in the fiction category at the 2005 Bologna Children's Book Fair for this book. "Cloud Bread" has been translated and published in over ten countries, including France, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, China, Iran, and Norway. It was also produced as a TV animation series and a children's musical, gaining popularity.

However, Baek only received 18.5 million KRW due to a copyright transfer contract with the publisher Hansol Education. She filed a copyright lawsuit but lost in both the first and second trials. The reason was a clause in the contract stating, "All rights related to copyright property rights, excluding moral rights, are transferred to Hansol Education." Her claim that character copyrights should be recognized separately from the book's copyright was also rejected.

Besides "Cloud Bread," she has published twelve picture books, including "Pink String," "The Boy Who Went to Find the Storm," "Moon Sherbet," and "Ppiyak-i Mom." She also contributed illustrations to works such as "Bang Bang Picture Book Bus" and "I Really Like Rainy Days!"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.