Picture Book Author Lee Suji's First Essay Filled with Writing: "Feeling Loneliness in the Digital World"

SNS Ends, 'Touchable Thoughts' Published
"Digital World Texts Vanish Helplessly"
2022 Andersen Award for Children's Literature

Picture book author Lee Suji, who has communicated with the world through illustrations without words, has published her first essay full of text titled Touchable Thoughts.

At a publication commemorative press conference held on the 26th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, Lee Suji explained that the reason for publishing an essay filled with words was the sense of emptiness and loneliness she felt in the digital world.

Lee Suji communicated with the world through picture books for children. Her 2008 publication Wave, Let’s Play contains no text in the body, only the title was translated, and it was published in 14 countries. The author gained worldwide fame after winning the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in the illustrator category in 2022, often called the "Nobel Prize of children's literature."

The reason she published an essay filled with words was because of the social networking service (SNS) "Egloos," which ended its service in June last year. She had been writing on Egloos like a diary for a long time. When the service ended, she faced the situation of losing the thoughts and feelings she had cherished for a long time all at once.

"I thought that writings in the digital world would last forever, but at some point, they just disappear helplessly." With that thought, she published her first essay containing her thoughts and feelings. "While drawing, I wanted to capture and bind the conversations, feelings, and thoughts I shared with many people into a book."

Picture Book Author Suji Lee [Photo provided by Biryoungso]

The essay, filled with colorful and honest stories, contains the entire process from majoring in painting, studying art books, to becoming a world-renowned picture book author immersed in the picture book world. It includes early work notes, stories of moments spent struggling with her children after becoming a mother, and finally, her acceptance speech for the Andersen Award.

The author said, "There are stories I want to tell, but I also thought a lot about what readers would find interesting."

The analog sensibility that can only be felt through a book is another reason for publishing the book. She expressed regret that when reading novels as e-books, one cannot feel the speed at which the book is being finished.

"When we hold a book, we can physically sense 'this book is coming to an end.' Along with that, we feel a certain indescribable regret, a tension wondering what will happen at the end. E-books don’t give that feeling unless you consciously think about the last page number. So I always think about that limitation. Digital gives us infinite possibilities and freedom, but I also think about the loneliness that comes from that lack of limits, and the sadness from the lack of physical presence."

The author also shared a bittersweet anecdote about being recognized as a picture book author.

"In the past, I searched my name and found that on some online bookstore sites, I was introduced as a cartoonist. So I sent emails to portal sites and online bookstores asking them to introduce me as a picture book author. The portal site replied politely that 'picture book author' is not listed as a profession, so it is not considered a job. I was quite shocked. I sent another email asking them to change it, but there was no response. Then, about two weeks after receiving the Andersen Award, I got an email saying it had been changed to picture book author."

The author said she was very happy to receive that email and that, in fact, she had not been confidently calling herself a picture book author for very long.

She also said she was very pleased that the government recently established an award for picture book authors and that the first recipient was announced last year. However, she expressed dissatisfaction upon hearing the news that this year’s budget for books and libraries had been cut.

As an author who draws picture books for children, she also gave advice on the attitude adults should have when reading picture books with children.

"I think the attitude of the person reading the picture book is very important. It should not be 'I am going to teach you this today,' but rather 'I really like this, I think this picture book is truly wonderful, this story is really great, and I’m so happy to share this feeling with you.'"

The author concluded the press conference by introducing her solo exhibition starting in April. "There is a unique and very important picture book specialized library in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do. I will hold a solo exhibition there from April 23 to September 22. I hope many people come to see it."