VOL.93/2026.04

Translating Moon Pops and the Rise of
Universal Korean Picture Books

2025.07.07

When I first encountered Baek Hee-na’s Moon Pops (Storybowl), I didn’t think of it as a “Korean” picture book in the narrow sense. Rather, I felt I had been given a small, poetic universe that could speak to anyone?child or adult, regardless of where they live or what language they speak. The idea of the moon melting on a hot summer night and being scooped into popsicles by a kind grandmother is not only magical?it’s universally human. It captures longing, generosity, and wonder in a way that needs no cultural translation. And this, I believe, is the quiet power of today’s best Korean picture books: they carry the ability to transcend boundaries without ever flattening their identity.

As a Professor of Korean Linguistics at the University of Oxford, I have spent much of my career thinking about how language carries emotion, culture, and imagination. I teach literary and audiovisual translation, and serve as series editor of Routledge Studies in East Asian Translation, a platform for exploring the evolving nature of global translation. My textbook, The Routledge Course in Korean Translation, is now considered core reading for students and researchers working in Korean translation studies. Beyond academia, I write as a poet and novelist. My poetry collection, Have You Had Your Rice (Cultura), explores how food and language nourish our emotional and cultural lives. My novel, Seoul Mothers (Hello Korean), examines maternal identity in contemporary Korean society. I’m currently working on a series of children’s stories set in South Korea. While grounded in Korean culture, these stories reach across borders to connect with children everywhere.
When I was invited to translate Moon Pops for Owlkids Books, I approached it not as a cultural intermediary, but as a literary listener. Baek Hee-na’s storytelling style is poetic, spare, and visual. It unfolds through rhythm, silence, and mood rather than exposition or dialogue. My task was not to explain Korea, but to preserve the ethereal tone and gentle pace of the original?to ensure that English readers could experience the story in the same way Korean readers do.
While working on the translation, I often shared drafts with my daughters. Their responses?spontaneous and heartfelt?reassured me that the story didn’t need heavy adaptation. What it needed was space and sensitivity. It confirmed something I’ve always believed: when crafted with care, picture books speak directly to the emotional imagination of children?across languages and cultures.
Publishers like Owlkids were drawn to Moon Pops not because it was Korean, but because it offered something rare and valuable. The book stands out for its narrative restraint, surreal charm, and emotional clarity. In 2024, I also translated You Are a Little Seed (Bear Books Inc.), published by Charlesbridge. It, too, uses metaphor and lyrical simplicity to communicate across age and language.

Some Korean picture books, like Moon Pops, explore universal themes?imagination, care, wonder?that resonate effortlessly across borders. Others are richly steeped in Korean cultural contexts, featuring idioms, traditions, foods, or historical references. Both approaches are valuable. Korean picture books are emotionally expansive and thematically bold. Many centre on intergenerational solidarity?grandparents and grandchildren, elders and youth?offering stories of mutual care that feel especially urgent and healing in today’s world. In a global literary landscape that is increasingly diverse, voices like these are not just welcome?they are needed.
Korean picture books often offer a distinct emotional texture compared to their Western counterparts. They may feature quieter tones, slower pacing, and more space for interpretation. Some include surreal humour or sudden moments of tenderness. They reflect a broader emotional spectrum that children appreciate deeply. Rather than seeing cultural specificity as a hurdle, I find that it sparks curiosity. Readers may not know everything about the setting or references?but they feel invited in. The reception of Moon Pops in North America has been very positive. Teachers and librarians praise its gentle originality; children are captivated by its dreamlike quality. The book demonstrates that stories don’t need to be loud or didactic to be powerful. They just need to be sincere.
Despite the success of individual titles, systemic challenges remain. In the UK, for example, it’s still surprisingly difficult to access Korean picture books in translation. Distribution networks are underdeveloped, online platforms are inconsistent, and physical bookstores rarely carry them without special order.
This limits the visibility of Korean books and authors?even when their work is already beloved abroad. What is needed now is not only good translation, but also effective marketing, stronger international rights partnerships, and strategic support for publishers and bookstores. These efforts will be vital to ensuring that Korean picture books become a regular part of children’s reading lives.

Written by Jieun Kiaer (Translator, Author, and Educator)