Written by Jeon Yeo Ul and Illustrated by Ga Ji


At the beginning of summer, a group of traveling actors visited the town. From then, the series of chaotic events happened in the town. Every night, suspicious sounds were heard in the village shrine. A lady in the man’s outfit wandered and a tightrope walker in the tiger outfit appeared in the play at the street market. Furthermore, the lady Cho-Ok from the richest family in town was kidnapped by a group of bandits on the way to a temple. All the people in town felt tragic about her being kidnapped, but nobody could notice that the group of traveling actors had suddenly gone. What really happened in this town? What was the truth?

This book presents us the story of people disrespected by others just because they have somewhat different dreams unlike others. Yi-Hae was born as the son of the leader of traveling actors, but he enjoyed himself putting on make-up secretly. Cho-Ok dreamed of being free from people and her situation oppressing herself just because she was born as a woman from a noble family. Hong-Dan wanted to make her family prosperous again by playing Geomungo, Korean traditional musical instrument with six strings. These three children have their own identities and social status in this world, but they share their hearts that they want to do ‘what they really want to do’. Therefore, they became close friends and helpers who understand one another. Their deep friendship, mutual understanding, and their courage to bet their lives on what they want make readers feel excited. The writer sends the message to children who also feel frustrated or just accepted without any doubt on decisions made by adults and the society. The message means the children should think of who they really are and what they really want.