Author Lee Uk-bae / Captured from Lee’s Instagram
The global influence of Korean picture books continues to rise, with veteran author Lee Uk-bae securing a prestigious win at the 2026 BolognaRagazzi Awards.
On Friday, Sakyejul Publishing said Lee’s 2020 picture book "The Story of a Brother and a Sister" was selected as a winner in the Fables and Fairy Tales category of this year’s BolognaRagazzi Awards.
The award is widely considered one of the most coveted honors in international children’s publishing. The organizers said they saw a record-breaking 4,120 titles submitted from 73 countries and regions, marking a 6.8 percent increase in entries compared to the previous year.
The awards typically feature five core categories — Fiction, Non-Fiction, Opera Prima (debut works by illustrators), Comics and Toddler — but also designate a special focus each year. For 2026, the committee selected Fairy Tales and Fables as the special category, where Lee’s work earned the top honor.
Lee, 66, has long been celebrated for his ability to infuse traditional Korean aesthetics and humor into modern picture book storytelling.
Cover of author Lee Uk-bae’s picture book “The Story of a Brother and a Sister” / Courtesy of Sakyejul Publishing
"The Story of a Brother and a Sister" offers a fresh, contemporary reinterpretation of a classic Korean folktale in which two siblings escape a tiger, ascend to the heavens by a rope and ultimately transform into the sun and the moon.
After hearing the news of the award, Lee shared his thoughts on social media.
"When I received the call that I had won the BolognaRagazzi Award, I was overcome with a flood of complex emotions before I could even feel joy," Lee wrote on Instagram. "The ups and downs this book has faced mirror my own journey as an author and the challenging history of Korean picture books."
Source: Korea Times News
