Recently, my (grownup) book club read the novel Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It was lengthy, but so good! Reading this epic tale made me realize how little I know about Korean culture and history. And if I didn’t know much, my 6 year old wasn’t going to know much either! If you’re like me, and you want your child to know more about Korea’s history and culture, these 11 children’s books are a great place to start.

11 Children’s Books to Explore Korean Culture and History

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy here. 

Children’s Books about Korean History

The Royal Bee by Frances Park, Ginger Park, and Christopher Zhong-Yuan Zhang

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

Song-ho’s greatest wish is to learn to read and write, so that he can grow up to provide a good living for his mother. But over 100 years ago, impoverished sangmin boys like him were not able to attend school. Undeterred, Song-ho finds time each day to eavesdrop at the doorway of the Sodang School.

When the weather turns cold, Master Min allows Song-ho to join the class, made up entirely of wealthy students. He soon becomes a star pupil. When he’s asked to represent his school in the governor’s Royal Bee, Song-ho has the chance to show not only his knowledge, but also his courage. (Recommended for ages 5 – 10)

The Firekeeper’s Son by Linda Sue Park and Julie Downing

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

Throughout its history, the island nation of Korea has faced repeated invasions and border disputes. This picture book, set in the 1800’s, shares one of the ways the king stayed prepared for possible attacks. Each evening that no enemy ships showed up in the water, a chosen villager lit a fire. This signaled a series of other fires being lit across the land, until the message of peace reached the king. But if no fire was lit, the king would know to send soldiers.

Young Sang-hee would love to see soldiers just once in real life. When his injured father asks him to travel up to the mountain to light the fire in his place, Sang-hee has to decide whether to put his own wishes aside for the good of his people. (Recommended for ages 4 – 9)

Related Post: Best Children’s Books Set in Asia

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

Celadon (greenware) pottery is one of the most beautiful gifts Korean culture has given to the world. Created in the 10 – 14th centuries, many prized pieces are still on display in museums. In this chapter book, we meet Tree-ear, an orphaned boy who’s lived under a bridge with his kind older friend Crane-man ever since he was a toddler.

Tree-ear loves to watch the master potter Min work in secret. He dreams that one day he will learn to throw a pot of his own. After accidentally breaking a piece of Min’s pottery, Tree-ear offers to work off his debt. Though the master is exacting and short-tempered, Tree-ear also senses that Min needs him. (Recommended for ages 10+)

My Freedom Trip: A Child’s Escape from North Korea by Frances Park, Ginger Park, and Debra Reid Jenkins

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

The Park sisters were inspired to write My Freedom Trip by their mother’s own tale of escaping North Korea, just before the Korean War broke out. A little girl named Soo notices that one by one, more classmates are missing from school. Her father soon tells her than a man named Mr. Han will be taking him on a trip to freedom in South Korea. She wants to go as well, of course, and her father promises that Mr. Han will be returning soon for her.

When the time comes, Soo’s mother encourages her to be brave, even though Soo feels her mother’s heart “beating against mine like a dying dove” when they embrace. The book sensitively tells this story from a tragic period in Korean history. (Recommended for ages 8+)

Related Post: 15 Children’s Books for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Korean Culture Kid’s Books: Folktales and Poems

Lady Hahn and her Seven Friends by Yumi Heo

This delightful picture book re-tells a Korean folktale about the seven tools needed for sewing. From Mrs. Ruler to Old Lady Thimble to Young Bride Needle, each tool is convinced that she is far more important than the others. Lady Hahn (the seamstress) interrupts to yell that clearly she is the most important because her hands allow the sewing to happen.

When Lady Hahn lays down for her nap, all the tools decide that she has mistreated them. So, they run away from the sewing box. How will Lady Hahn finish sewing her shirt without scissors, thread, or an iron? (Recommended for ages 4 – 8)

Related Post: Activities and Books to Teach Kids about Chinese Culture

Never Trust a Tiger: A Story from Korea by Lari Don and Melanie Williamson

Find at Barefoot Books

The cries of a tiger stop a kindly merchant who is on his way to the market. The tiger is trapped in a pit. He promises to repay the merchant with kindness if he’ll help him climb out. When the merchant obliges, the tiger pounces on him, ready to eat him.

A funny philosophical debate (that children can follow) starts between the merchant and tiger. Can good deeds be repaid by bad ones? Tiger soon grows frustrated by the banter. If passers-by agree with him that life is not fair, he wants to know, will the merchant let the tiger eat him in peace? (Recommended for ages 5+)

The Green Frogs: A Korean Folktale by Yumi Heo

Long ago, there were two green frogs who loved their mother, but nevertheless did the opposite of almost everything she told them to do.  The two young frogs don’t even croak the right way, reversing their mother’s instructions.

When Mother frog realizes she won’t live much longer, she decides to trick her son’s into burying her where she actually wants her grave to be. Since she wants to be buried on the sunny side of the hill, she tells them to bury her in the shade. What will happen when her sons finally decide they should honor their mother by obeying her instructions? (Recommended for ages 3 – 7)

Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems) by Linda Sue Park

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

Sijo poetry is a fun way for kids to explore Korean culture, as Linda Sue Park shows us with her playful poems. Each sijo has a fixed number of stressed syllables. Unlike haiku, the topic doesn’t need to be nature, and the endings are often jokes or surprises.

Park’s sijos cover everything from long division (where numbers “tap dance on the roof”) to pockets that include gum wrappers – and hamsters! At the end of the book, there’s also a couple of pages of tips on how to write sijo, which would be perfect for a class project. (Recommended for ages 7 – 12)

Related Post: Learn about Japan: Kids’ Books and Activities

Children’s Books about Korean American Families

There are more than 1.8 million people of Korean descent living in the United States today. So, it’s not surprising that a number of children’s books about Korean culture feature Korean American families.

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller.

Purchase from Bookshop.org (supports independent bookstores and my business!)

This Newberry Award winner sensitively weaves magic rooted in Korean folklore with themes of grief, family secrets, and the pain and opportunity that comes with growing up.

When Lily’s mother suddenly announces they’ll be moving to Oregon to live with her Halmoni, her older sister Sam is furious. But Lily has always been much closer to Halmoni, fascinated with her Korean traditions that her mother often dimisses as superstitution.

The girls soon discover that they’ve moved because Halmoni is very sick, and Lily is convinced that a magical tiger holds the promise of a cure for her grandmother. Halmoni has warned Lily of the danger tigers pose, but soon Lily has made a deal with the tiger. Of course, tiger’s words don’t always mean what they seem to, and the tiger will play an unexpected role in Halmoni and Lily’s lives. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Korean-American author.)

Bee-bim Bop! By Linda Sue Park and Ho Baek Lee

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

This fast-paced rhyming book will delight preschoolers. A young child loves helping her mother through the many steps of making bee-bim bop (which literally means “mix mix rice.”) Families who find their mouths watering during the book can use the recipe included at the end to make their own tasty dish of bee-bim bop. (Recommended for ages 2-6)

Yunmi and Halmoni’s Trip by Sook Nyul Choi and Karen Dugan

Yunmi is on her first trip to Korea with her Halmoni (grandmother). Halmoni has spent the last year in New York City with Yunmi, taking care of her while her parents are at work. Yunmi is excited to meet her cousins and to go sight-seeing at places like the Royal Palace and the National Museum.

But her Halmoni is so busy, especially as she prepares for the big picnic that will take place at her Grandfather’s tomb on his birthday. Yunmi sees how much Halmoni is enjoying being with the rest of the family. In New York, the only family she has is Yunmi and her parents. What if Halmoni doesn’t want to go back to New York with her? (Recommended for ages 7 – 11)

Related Post: Around the World Summer Camp: DIY Ideas

The Have a Good Day Cafe by Frances Park, Ginger Park, and Katherine Potter

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

Mike’s Grandma misses life in Korea, and she also seems bored. Her son encourages her to stay home and rest while the family works their food cart, but she insists that she’s tired of resting her feet! Mike’s family sells pizza, hot dogs, pretzels, and other popular American foods that Mike loves.

When other food carts start using the same corner, business is down. Their business license states they can’t find a new corner, but Mike has an idea that could save their business. What if he and Grandma make Korean food to sell, like bulgogi, mandoo, and jijim? (recommended for ages 5 – 10)

Dear Juno by Soyung Pak and Susan Kathleen Hartung

Find on Bookshop (supports independent bookstores)

When Juno gets a letter from his grandmother in Korea, he has to wait for his parents to read it to him. He doesn’t know how to read Korean. When impatience gets the better of him, he opens the letter. He soon discovers that he does know what it’s about. His grandmother must have a new cat, because she’s sent a picture. And she must be growing flowers in her garden, because she enclosed a dried one.

Juno wonders if he can also send his grandmother a letter that she would understand. A special cross-generational, bilingual pen pal relationship is born. (Recommended for ages 4 – 9).