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Children's author Lee Geum-yi misses out on Hans Christian Andersen award, still sees shortlist as 'reward'

Published: 14 Apr. 2026, 13:05

KIM JU-YEON
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MICHAEL LEE
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Author Lee Geum-yi is seen during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 1. [YONHAP]

Korean author Lee Geum-yi said she would continue writing stories for children and young adults after narrowly missing out on this year's Hans Christian Andersen Award, one of the most prestigious honors in children's literature.

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) announced British author Michael Rosen as the winner of the award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy on Monday. The 64-year-old Lee was among six finalists, marking her second appearance on the shortlist in the award’s writing category since 2024.

“I feel I have already received a great reward regardless of the outcome,” Lee said in a statement released through the Korean Board on Books for Young People (KBBY). “I will continue to write with joy, sharing stories that offer comfort and hope to children and adolescents.”

Lee said her work has been shaped by the sense of comfort and hope she found in books during her own childhood.

“I wanted to share those values with readers,” she said, adding that the process of writing has allowed her to grow both as an author and as a person. “It is thanks to readers who love and wait for my work that I have been able to keep writing without growing weary.”

Established in 1956 in the name of the 19th-century Danish fairy tale author, the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award is widely regarded as the highest honor for authors and illustrators in children’s literature. The award is sponsored by Nami Island Inc., a Korean tourism company that promotes content related to the arts, culture and environment.

Artist Suzy Lee was the first Korean to win the award in the illustration category in 2022.

Lee Geum-yi, whose writing career spans four decades, has published more than 50 books, including “Yujin and Yujin” (2004) and “Aloha, My Mothers” (2024), and is widely credited with expanding the scope of Korean children’s and young adult literature.

She has often centered marginalized voices in her work, including women, migrants, people with disabilities and nontraditional families, and explored themes of belonging and the violence faced by children and young adults.

IBBY describes her as a writer with a “signature strength: weaving heavy themes into gripping, accessible narratives without softening their truth.”

She most recently published “The Gap of Sorrow” (2025), the last book of a trilogy about the Korean women's diaspora under the 1910-45 Japanese colonial occupation.

KBBY said Lee’s recognition as a finalist was meaningful in itself.

“The fact that she has twice been named a finalist despite writing in a nonmainstream language demonstrates the potential of Korean children’s literature to the world,” the organization said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK JONG-SUH, KIM JU-YEON, MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]