The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on September 10 that undergraduate student Bae Yeonwoo, currently enrolled in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, published a full-fledged mystery novel for children titled "Detective Myeongaru" in August. The novel is based on the work that won the grand prize at the 1st Sherlock Holmes Award hosted by Bir Yongso.
The Sherlock Holmes Award is a contest first held last year by Bir Yongso, a publisher specializing in children's and youth literature, to discover domestic literature in the children's mystery genre.
"Detective Myeongaru" is a full-fledged mystery novel in which Myeongaru, an elementary school student, takes on the role of a detective and solves cases. Through the logical reasoning of Detective Myeongaru, it is gradually revealed that seemingly mysterious incidents-such as the haunted house rumor on the hill behind the school, the theft of a cursed doll, and the decaying school pond-are in fact interconnected as part of a single case.
Judges Heo Gyobeom, a children's and youth literature writer, and Yoon Youngcheon, operator of HowMystery, evaluated "Detective Myeongaru's Detective Journal" as "a highly accomplished work that combines horror and mystery based on urban legends." They added, "The author demonstrates a strong understanding of what interests young readers, shows a deep grasp of the traditions of detective fiction, appropriately calibrates the level of horror for the target age group, and highlights the protagonist's realistic problem-solving skills."
Bae Yeonwoo previously won the short story category at the 7th Elixir Mystery Awards in 2023 with "Detective, Sujeong." Since then, Bae has serialized a series and columns in "Mysteria," Elixir's magazine specializing in mysteries. "Detective Myeongaru" is Bae's first standalone book.
Regarding the background of the novel's conception, Bae explained, "I've always enjoyed urban legends, and I thought settings like abandoned houses near schools or rumors of monsters circulating among students would be intriguing for elementary school readers." Bae added, "The essence of a mystery novel is that there is a logical truth behind such seemingly inexplicable events."
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