This picture book introduces the excitement and fun of ssireum to the children of today.

On Dano day, the fifth day of the fifth month of the Lunar calendar, people gather around on the sand near the river. From infants to village elders, people of all ages and genders gather. The sweets shop and rice cake shop display their goods and even the ox, which doesn't know what's going on, follows its owner to the scene. It's all because a ssireum match is taking place! Combatants are eliminated after each match until only the strongest two men remain for the final round. One of them will be crowned the strongest man in the world.

Ssireum is a picture book written to introduce the excitement and fun of ssireum to the children of today. It depicts the strength and techniques of the ssireum wrestlers, the tense matches, the clanking sound of the sweets seller's scissors, the roars and cheers from the crowd, the surprise of a small man defeating a big man, and the sounds of music when the champion is determined. This wide array of excitement and fun is accompanied by witty prose.

The dynamic and detailed drawings deliver the tension of the moment, from the breath of the wrestlers to the movements, expressions and gestures of the referee and crowd, delivering real-like excitement that feels like an actual ssireum match.

Kim Jangsung

Kim Jangsung (M) was born in Seoul and studied Korean Language and Literature at Sungkyunkwan University. Since his graduation, Kim has been engaged in the production and editing of children's books and has worked as a writer and teacher of picture books as well. Children's books and picture books created by Kim include The Story of How the World Was Born, Emotional Old Stories, The Sound of an Alley, On a Tree, Gasine, Ssireum and Magpie's Father.

Lee Seunghyun

Lee Seunghyun (M) was born in Gwangju in 1972. He studied Illustration at the Hanguk Illustration School and the Graduate School of the University of Seoul. He won the 28th Korean Children's Book Award in illustration category for Ssireum. He has worked on the picture books Looking for a Son-in-Law Who's Good at Lying, The Noble Who Manipulated Ghosts, The Drifting Record of Yi Seondal, My D'Artagnan and Ghost Gamtu. Lee also worked on the Korean Life Museum series, and he is currently engaged in researching people by observing who sits in the seats for the elderly and handicapped. He continues to make an effort to create picture books that embody the pain people experience in life.

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