The King's Secret: The Legend of King Sejong

by Carol Farley

Book Overview

Many years ago, when tigers smoked long pipes and rabbits talked to dragons, wise King Sejong ruled the great land of Korea. When a humble servant boy tells of his longing to read and write, King... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688127762
• ISBN13: 9780688127763
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.9" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

Book is recommended by a Korean scholar who specialises in children's books about Korea

It is a shame that there is apocryphal evidence of errors given for this book claiming that unnamed Koreans think this book is inaccurate with Yoo Kyung Sung, a scholar from South Korea includes this as the number one book in his list of children's books about Korea. See this link: [...]. I have found this book very valuable in introducing not only Korea and Hangul to students, but also the concept that literacy is an essential part of democracy. It is also a great way to talk about phonics and how strange English is! It seems easy enough to combat the errors in the drawings with other pictures. This book deserves a higher rating.

Worth Reading...

As someone, who have attended dozens of children's book workshops, I would like to comment on some of the reviews posted here that condemn this book due to the illustrations. Once a story is sold to a pubisher, the author has absolutely NO say in their choice of illustrator. Therefore blaming the author for "bad" illustrations is a gross inaccuracy. The author's primary responsibility in writing a children's book is to make sure the text engages both young and mature audience. I thought the story was well-written with much sensitivity while celebrating the invention of the Korean alphabet. In regards to the illustrations, I think we should give iillustrator, Mr. Jew some credit. To tackle a story of this magnitude where there are no research pictures of 15th century life in Korea,is no small feat. I would have to imagine he used illustrations from other early masters for his research. I don't think the illustrations deserve such harsh critism-as I'm sure other published illustrators would probably not want to embark on a story that involves so much research. Long hours are also spent painting realistically which is a harder feat where you have to make the characters consistent from page to page. Overall, I think the book is worth the read because it is a fascinating look on the importance of literacy and the power of reading.

Good Appriciation of Literature

This wonderful story is set in 15th century Korea where literacy is not common knowledge among the many people in Korea. The story is about a king who comes across a young peasant boy making markings in the said. The young boy told the King (not knowing who he really was due to disguise) that he would like nothing more that to be able to read and write. The King was on a mission to create a language using sounds as the base, he created twenty-eight symbols. The elders in the community were scared that the gods would be angry with them if they do not use the complex Chinese language they have been, but the King new that his country needed their own language. After trials with the language he brought the proposal to the young boy who was ecstatic with he understood the new symbols. The pictures in the story were my favorite part. They allowed 15th century Korea to come alive in the pages. Also in the back of the book the modern day Korean language was displayed. Allowing students to see what other forms of literacy look like. I believe that the author had a wonderful point. The author wanted to emphasize that literacy is extremely important around the world, no matter what culture you were in.

This is a legend, not a Korean textbook.

Most people are not aware that unless an author illustrates her own story she has absolutely no control over the choice of illustrator or the work they do. It is no fairer to blame the author for bad illustrations than to blame your cab driver for the rain that spoils your vacation. That said, the illustrations are lovely and they give a wonderful atmosphere to the story, even if they are not perfect representations of Korean dress during that period. This is a perfect introduction for small children to an amazing story. Who is to say that Carol Farley's King Sejong will fail to inspire a child to persevere in what they want to accomplish because of "inaccurate" pictures? There are too few books like this available to children - ones that expand their ideas of other cultures, histories, and possibilities. I cannot believe that it is right to refuse children the story of what one person can do to better the lives of the people around him or her simply because the illustrations don't suit you.