A Story of Life Told by an Earthworm... Jeon Mihwa, Kim Jiwon Win Grand Prizes at the "Korea Picture Book Awards"

506 entries received, 9 works selected... Both fiction and nonfiction grand prize winners explore nature and life
Special awards go to Baek Heena’s "Gumeongcheong" and Kim Bokhee and Lee Myeongae’s "The Most Wonderful Bird in the World"
Winners include a collaboration by Lee Suji and Jin Eunyoung... Awards ceremony to be held on the 3rd
Support for translation and participation in overseas book fairs to help Korean picture books reach global markets

Fish in the sea, birds in the sky, and earthworms beneath the ground. Two picture books that explore the relationship between nature and life through their authors’ words and illustrations have won the grand prizes at this year’s Korea Picture Book Awards.

Official poster for the 2026 Korea Picture Book Award ceremony, held at Ferrum Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul. Nine works were selected as winners from 506 entries this year: two grand prize winners in fiction and nonfiction, six special award winners, and one newcomer award winner. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency announced Tuesday that the grand prizes at the 2026 Korea Picture Book Awards went to Jeon Mihwa’s To the Fish in the Sea, the Bird in the Sky, the Animal in the Forest, and the Human (Borim Press) and Kim Jiwon’s Raising Earthworms (RH Korea).

Now in its fourth year, the Korea Picture Book Awards received 506 entries. After review by a panel of experts, nine works were selected as winners: one fiction grand prize, one nonfiction grand prize, six special awards, and one newcomer award.

The fiction grand prize winner, To the Fish in the Sea, the Bird in the Sky, the Animal in the Forest, and the Human, reflects on the relationship between humans and the diverse forms of life in nature, asking what it means to coexist. The nonfiction grand prize winner, Raising Earthworms, depicts the cycle of the ecosystem and the preciousness of life through the story of a small earthworm. Each author will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and 15 million won.

The special awards went to Gumeongcheong (Storybowl) by internationally renowned picture book author Baek Heena and The Most Wonderful Bird in the World (Sakyejul Publishing) by Kim Bokhee and Lee Myeongae. Each work will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and 10 million won.

Today Is My Birthday (Uri School), created by poet Jin Eunyoung and author Lee Suji; Every Goodbye in the World (Gomgom) by Nam Girim; Kosirong: A Haenyeo Table (Woongjin Thinkbig) by So Yunkyung; and I Can Do It (Changbi) by Kim Hyoeun were also named special award winners. Each of these four works will receive an award from the head of the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency and 7 million won.

The newcomer award goes to Yeo Seoyun’s There’s a Song I Want to Sing for You (Sakyejul Publishing). The winner will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and 7 million won.

The Ministry will also support the winning works’ efforts to reach overseas markets. It plans to promote them through the publishing export platform K-Book and the English-language webzine K-Book Trends, support sample translations and the production of book reviews, and introduce the works at major international book fairs, including the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The Ministry will also promote the books through Korean Cultural Centers overseas.

The Korea Picture Book Awards were established in 2023 to discover outstanding Korean picture books and support their entry into overseas markets. The awards ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. today at Ferrum Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Choi Seonghee, Director General for Content Industry Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “Picture books are publishing content in which writing, illustration, and design come together to inspire emotion and imagination in a wide range of readers, from children to adults.” Choi added, “We will strengthen our support for translation, exports, and international exchange so that Korean picture books can reach readers in broader markets.”

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