Before we introduce this book, we have a question for you. Imagine you are a fish—one among a huge school of fish swimming together. Now imagine that a few of them have caught some kind of illness. No one knows exactly what it is, but it's said to be terrible, and anyone who gets close is sure to catch it too. An epidemic among a school of fish that moves as one body... What would you do in that situation? A fish with a cold? 'The Fish Who Caught a Cold' is a picture book that offers a fascinating answer to this very question. The main characters are a hungry anglerfish and a school of colorful fish. The anglerfish wants nothing more than to eat the fish, but the tightly bonded school is not an easy target. Scheming over how to catch them, the anglerfish hides among the water plants and starts a quiet rumor: "Hey... I heard the red fish caught a cold..." A fish with a cold? That's absurd. The school scoffs at first, but the anglerfish doesn't give up. It adds a convincing detail—that the fever is what turned their bodies red. The rumor carefully spreads through the group. From there, it grows and grows as it passes from mouth to mouth, becoming more serious, more convincing, until finally someone says, "Let's kick them out before they infect the rest of us!" The anglerfish waits with its mouth wide open and gobbles up the red fish the moment they're cast out. Then it starts another rumor: "Hey... I heard the yellow fish caught it too. They must have caught it from the red ones." Now the school suspects each other without a second thought, casting out fish of different colors one after another. A Chaos Caused by a False Rumor "Someone saw it..." "I heard from someone that..." Words passed along carelessly, leaving the responsibility of judging their truth to someone else. Rumors reach our ears more often than we might think—from small stories whispered among friends to larger ones that stir up a school, a workplace, or even an entire society. These days, they can spread in an instant through social media. Of course, rumors aren't always a bad thing. Sometimes they slowly reveal a truth that someone tried to hide with bad intentions. But most rumors we hear end up hurting someone, or blowing something out of proportion until it collapses into an empty commotion—just like what happens to the anglerfish and the school of fish in 'The Fish Who Caught a Cold.' If they had stopped to think it over, the fish might have realized something was off. But blinded by fear, they never notice the anglerfish trailing behind them, and they show no will to face the situation together with their friends. Fear that they themselves might be next shuts their eyes, ears, and hearts tight. It's only when their numbers have dwindled so much that they can hardly be called a school anymore that one black fish finally asks, suspicious at last: "Have any of you actually seen a fish with a cold? Who's been spreading this rumor, anyway?" It's a very late awakening—but can it still bring about a turnaround? A Charming Picture Book with a Bittersweet Aftertaste 'The Fish Who Caught a Cold' is the third original picture book by the distinctive young author-illustrator Park Jung-seop. Though the subject matter—rumors, lies, exclusion—is heavy, the artwork is full of playful energy. Against a deep blue sea, the shrinking school of fish is depicted almost as if their bodies are being chopped away piece by piece, while bold scenes are rendered in flat, vivid blocks of primary colors like red and yellow. Another delightful aspect is that the story unfolds entirely through the dialogue between the anglerfish and the fish, rather than through descriptive narration. The characters' personalities come alive through blunt, unfiltered lines—as fresh and raw as a fish straight out of water—delivered with real boldness. Carefully designed typography adds even more pleasure to the reading experience. Watching the fish get swept up by the anglerfish's false rumor can feel frustrating, infuriating, and heartbreaking all at once. But in the end, we nod along—because their words and actions look a little too much like our own. The final scene, reminiscent of a dark comedy, leaves behind a bittersweet aftertaste, and has the power to make readers close the book wondering, 'What would I have done?' This truly is no ordinary picture book.