S. Korean Ambassador on children's books and Han Kang's The Vegetarian

Who: South Korea's Ambassador to Singapore Hong Jin-wook, 58, a career diplomat with close to 30 years of experience. The South Korean embassy in Singapore is organising a full calendar of activities here, as the two countries celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2025. South Korea is also the country of focus for the 16th Asian Festival of Children's Content, which will take place from May 22 to 25. Tickets can be purchased at str.sg/br6b

- Shawn Hoo

"I like Shadow Play by South Korean picture-book illustrator and author Suzy Lee, who won the Hans Christian Andersen Award. I think it tells of the symmetry and asymmetry between reality and the shadows—shadows can hide, but they can also be seen as creative. Without any words, she's expressing her thoughts in a complete way through short pages of illustrations. I heard that she spent some time in Singapore and this book was known to be written here.