Description: Bread or tteok — that is the question! Seul-gi moves to a new neighborhood and meets her new friend Min-ji. Living close by and attending the same kindergarten, the two quickly become best friends. When Seul-gi's birthday comes around, Min-ji brings a tteok cake to the kindergarten birthday party. Min-ji's grandmother has run a tteok shop for many years, so Min-ji loves tteok and knows all about it — she's practically a tteok expert. She even asked her grandmother to make a special tteok cake just for Seul-gi. But Seul-gi, who loves bread and cake, doesn't know how much thought Min-ji put into it, and doesn't eat the tteok. Min-ji's feelings are hurt, and she ends up in tears. Afterward, things become awkward between the two girls, though Seul-gi doesn't understand why. It's only through a conversation between their mothers, who notice the girls have grown distant, that Seul-gi finally learns what happened. So on her actual birthday, she invites Min-ji over. Seul-gi loves bread, and Min-ji loves tteok — can the two become close friends again? Tteok Is Always There on Happy Occasions When a baby turns 100 days old, grandmothers and mothers prepare a special table with baekseolgi (white rice cake) and seaweed soup, offering thanks to Samshin Halmoni, the grandmother spirit believed to grant and watch over children. For the Korean people, tteok is a food that accompanies every stage of life, from birth to death, and every joyful moment we wish to share with those around us. Whether it's a wedding, moving into a new home, or even finishing a book, we make tteok to share with our neighbors and loved ones. Tteok is also offered in prayers asking the gods to keep misfortune away. It is a food that is truly inseparable from Korean culture. Believed to have originated before the Three Kingdoms period, when people began steaming grain flour after the start of agriculture, tteok has a long history with many different recipes and varieties. Beyond special occasions, Koreans traditionally made different types of tteok to match each seasonal holiday throughout the year. While we no longer eat tteok for every seasonal occasion today, some traditions remain — like eating tteokguk (rice cake soup) on Lunar New Year and songpyeon on Chuseok. Nowadays, tteok is often bought easily from tteok shops rather than made at home, and some people even enjoy it as a quick breakfast. Even as more people are drawn to sweet, pretty breads and cakes, tteok remains a beloved food for Koreans — on both special days and ordinary ones. From Kindergarten Curriculum to Elementary School Textbooks: Traditional Culture Education Traditional culture is an essential part of the Nuri Curriculum's social relationships domain, which covers Korean traditions and culture. This emphasis continues into the revised elementary school textbooks for grades 1–2, where traditional culture education has become even more prominent — reflecting the growing importance placed on fostering a sense of community. Among the many things children learn during their kindergarten years, understanding traditional culture has become increasingly significant. Let your child discover it naturally and joyfully through picture books. About the Yellow Umbrella Traditional Culture Picture Book Series 1. Where Did Our Child Go? – The story of the guardian spirits who live throughout the house and protect the home 2. Make Way! Here Comes the Bidak King! – Stories of traditional Korean games like bisukchigi (stone-throwing), gonggi (jacks), gullyeongsoe (hoop rolling), and jump rope 3. I Love Our Beautiful Hanbok – The story of hanbok, Korea's traditional clothing, growing ever more popular around the world 4. I Want to Bow at Chuseok Too – A story about Korean holidays, songpyeon, and ganggangsullae 5. What a Grind! – Stories of traditional tools like the millstone, rice cake steamer, mortar and pestle, iron cauldron, and winnowing basket 6. Shh! The Secret of the Jar – The story of the breathable, eco-friendly, and forward-thinking traditional earthenware jar 7. Warm Floors, Warm Hearts – The story of ondol, the efficient traditional heating system that warms both floor and air 8. Yay! Now I'm the Big Sibling – A story about Seollal, Korea's Lunar New Year, complete with ancestral rites and tteokguk 9. Uh-Oh! Where's Our Baby? – A story about hanok, the traditional Korean house that stays cool in summer and warm in winter 10. Wow, What a Treat! – The story of tteok, the special Korean treat made for life's most special occasions