Chilgok County Saemaeul Book Club Gives Children the Gift of a "Broader World" on Children's Day

Sharing Books, Not Toys

The Saemaeul Book Club Chilgok County Branch held a "Children's Day Book Sharing" event at the Chilgok Rest Area to celebrate Children's Day.

On May 4, families continued to visit the event venue to receive books. Children flipped through the pages to choose the books they wanted to read, while parents handed books to their children. Grandparents could also be seen picking out books to give to their grandchildren.

Although toys or game consoles are common gifts for Children's Day, the atmosphere at the rest area was different that day. The children who hugged a book to their chest looked just as happy as those who received toys.

Saemaeul Library Chilgok County Branch, Children's Day Book Sharing Event Group Photo. [Photo by Chilgok County]

This time, only grade-A books in good condition, selected from the books that members had kept at home, were distributed. Books that had been read to children, or those that had been finished and placed back on the shelf, were taken out and gathered again. Worn or damaged books were excluded, and all books were thoroughly disinfected.

Fourteen members, including Kim Myung-shin, president of the Saemaeul Book Club Chilgok County Branch, were present at the site to personally hand out the books. Woo Chung-gi, president of the Chilgok County Saemaeul Association, also participated in the event.

The Chilgok Rest Area supported the event by preparing eco-bags for visitors to carry the books.

Jeon Kyung-jin, head of the Chilgok Rest Area, said, "It is meaningful that the rest area has become a place to meet with books, beyond simply being a place to take a break," adding, "We will continue to support such activities in the future."

On that day, the rest area briefly transformed into a small library. Children turned the pages of books, and parents selected books to read together in the car. It was as if another journey began on the road to their destination.

President Kim Myung-shin said, "For Children's Day, I wanted to give children a broader world, not just toys," adding, "A book is not a gift that ends after one reading, but rather the longest-lasting gift that helps nurture a child's thoughts and heart."

The Chilgok County Saemaeul Book Club has previously established the "Children's Love Library" at the Chilgok Rest Area, allowing all travelers to freely read and take books home, and expanded this initiative to highway rest areas in Pohang, Yeongcheon, Geoncheon, and other areas in North Gyeongsang Province. In addition, a small book collection was installed in the holding cell of the Chilgok Police Station to extend a culture of reading even to places that are generally hard to reach with books.

The effort to expand a reading culture even to places where books were previously inaccessible ultimately led to President Kim receiving the "Reading Culture Award of the Year."

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