Jeon Mi-hwa and Kim Ji-won win top prizes at the Korea Picture Book Awards; 9 works selected

[Financial News] Picture books by Jeon Mi-hwa and Kim Ji-won, exploring the coexistence of nature and life, will receive the grand prizes at the 2026 Korea Picture Book Awards. The winning works will receive support for overseas expansion, including translation and participation in international book fairs.
On the 3rd, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency announced that they had selected nine winning works: two grand prize winners, six special award winners, and one newcomer award winner. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. that day at Ferrum Tower in Jung District, Seoul. Established in 2023 and now being held for the fourth time this year, the awards received a total of 506 submissions.
Jeon Mi-hwa's 'To the Fish in the Sea, to the Birds in the Sky, to the Animals in the Forest, and to Humans' (Borim Publishing) won the fiction grand prize. Reflecting on the relationship between life in nature and humans, it conveys the meaning of a world where all living things live together.
Kim Ji-won's 'Raising Earthworms' (RH Korea), the nonfiction grand prize winner, explores the cycles of nature and the value of ecosystems through a small living creature. It combines the author's own experience raising earthworms with information about their anatomy, diet, and living conditions. It is also the first book Kim Ji-won has published as both writer and illustrator. Each grand prize winner will receive a Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and 15 million won in prize money.
Among the special award winners, Baek Hee-na's 'Gumeongcheong' (Storybowl) and Kim Bok-hee and Lee Myeong-ae's 'The Most Wonderful Bird in the World' (Sagyejeol Publishing) will receive Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Awards. The prize is 10 million won per work.
The authors of four works—Jin Eun-young and Lee Su-ji's 'Today Is My Birthday' (Woori School), Nam Gi-rim's 'All the Goodbyes in the World' (Gomgom), So Yun-gyeong's 'A Delicious Table of Haenyeo Cuisine' (Woongjin Thinkbig), and Kim Hyo-eun's 'I Can Do It' (Changbi)—will receive the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency President's Award and 7 million won in prize money per work.
The newcomer award went to Yeo Seo-yun's 'I Have a Song I Want You to Hear' (Sagyejeol Publishing). The winner will receive a Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and 7 million won in prize money.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency will showcase the winning works overseas through the Integrated Platform for Publishing Exports (K-Book) and the English-language webzine K-Book Trends. They will support sample translations and the production of book reviews, and plan to coordinate displays at major international book fairs, including the Bologna Children's Book Fair, as well as promotion through Korean Cultural Centers abroad.

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