Description Stop the fighting that's spreading across the whole world like an epidemic! Early one morning, Naro drags his heavy feet on the way to school. Gone is the boy who once bubbled over with wonderful daydreams — now he looks utterly gloomy. Why has Naro, the child with the most vivid imagination in the world, become like this? Lately, fighting never seems to stop in Naro's classroom. The moment the kids' eyes meet, they start pointing fingers and throwing punches. Without actual bullets flying, it might as well be a battlefield. The mood in class has grown icy cold. The teacher, unaware of what's really going on, is delighted that the children seem to be behaving so seriously during lessons — but Naro truly dreads going to school. Still, playing alone at home is just as unbearable. He's so bored he feels sick. Unable to stand it any longer, Naro drags his dog Peolleogi out to the playground, wandering around, hoping someone — anyone — will ask him to play so he can pretend to be talked into it. But then... "Come with me!" Peolleogi suddenly stands up like a person and speaks. Even though this happened once before, Naro had completely forgotten and is startled out of his wits. "Wh-what exactly are you?" What is he, indeed — a special agent from Iruria, the world of imagination! According to Peolleogi, the endless fighting in Naro's class is happening because something has gone wrong in Iruria. If left unchecked, the fighting will spread across the whole world like a plague. There's no choice but to borrow Naro's extraordinary imagination once again. Led by Peolleogi back to Iruria, Naro discovers that Captain Gulkkeok, leader of the Dark Pirates, is hatching a terrible plot. Captain Gulkkeok is a nasty villain who gulps down anything he doesn't like in a single bite. Can Naro and Peolleogi once again defeat the forces of darkness and save their friends — and the world — from danger? Opening a Crack in Reality So Children Can Dream Author Kim Young-jin says the idea for this story came to him at a playground near his home. When he was a child, the playground had a splendid play-ship, one that could keep kids playing all night long as they reenacted every adventure story imaginable — from Treasure Island to Two Years' Vacation to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. But like so many apartment playgrounds today, this one now stands mostly empty. That quiet emptiness stirred Naro and Peolleogi back to life within the author. Where have all the children gone during the hours when they should be running around joyfully after school or kindergarten? Are they instead caught in Captain Gulkkeok's grip, viewing their friends as enemies to defeat, generating energy fueled by hatred? And if that hateful energy from children keeps spreading, what will become of the world? When the thought strikes him, Naro pushes down his fear and says, "Then we have to go save them right away." The author believes that if children stop dreaming, the world will truly be in danger. He believes children can imagine worlds that adults' rigid minds could never dare to conceive — and that they can even bring those dreams into reality. That's why he wants children to dream just a little happier dreams. He wants to pry open a crack in reality so children can breathe and dream freely. At the end of the book, when the children return to a playground filled with healthy, happy laughter, it reflects the author's own heartfelt wish. Author Kim Young-jin believes that all imagination comes from observation. That's why he takes dozens, even hundreds, of photographs just to complete a single scene. In the same spirit, he hopes children won't look away from the reality around them, because truly powerful imagination can only grow when it's firmly rooted in the real world. The author himself keeps a hawk's sharp eye on children and the world around them, searching for the next doorway into Iruria. Last time, the entrance appeared in Naro's own house; this time, it opened at the playground in his neighborhood. Where will the next gateway to Iruria appear? It's exciting to wonder. A Belief That the World Can Change, Starting with — and Because of — 'Naro' Ever since his very first self-written and illustrated picture book, The Singing Ball Pig, author Kim Young-jin has...