When Spring Comes to the DMZ

Summary of Book

This unique picture book invites young readers into the natural beauty of the DMZ, where salmon, spotted seals, and mountain goats freely follow the seasons and raise their families in this 2.5-mile-wide, 150-mile-long corridor where no human may tread. But the vivid seasonal flora and fauna are framed by ever-present rusty razor wire, warning signs, and locked gates―and regularly interrupted by military exercises that continue decades after a 1953 ceasefire in the Korean War established the DMZ.

Author / Illustrator Biography

Uk-Bae Lee was born in Yongin, South Korea, in 1960 and studied art at Hongik University. In 1986 he joined a group of artists whose murals, cartoons, and woodcuts represented the voice of the poor. He also held free painting classes for factory workers. Later, inspired to make a book for his own young daughter, he began his career as a children’s book illustrator. In 2010 he published When Spring Comes to the DMZ as a part of the Peace Picture Book Project by illustrators from Korea, China, and Japan. Since then he has often talked to groups of children and parents about how individuals can work for peace. He lives in rural Korea with his wife, who is also a children’s book author, and their children.