ULSAN — “Chae-a, do you like drawing?” “Yes!” “You won an award for your drawing. What did you do with your picture at school?” “I showed it off.” “How did you feel when you showed it to everyone?” “Happy. Excited.” The eight-year-old's answers were brief, but her drawings were filled with endless stories. Jang Chae-a, 8, a second-grader at Samdong Elementary School in Ulsan, won the gold prize in the 8-10 age category at the 2026 International Youth Art Contest (IYAC), a global competition for children and teenagers. She met with the Hankook Ilbo on Oct. 29 in Ulsan. Chae-a, who is on the autism spectrum, has difficulty expressing her thoughts spontaneously through speech. But her mother, Lee Kyung-geum, 43, said this does not mean her daughter lacks the desire to communicate or the determination to do things well. “It's as though all the stories she cannot fully put into words pour onto the drawing paper,” Lee said with a smile. Chae-a's award-winning work, titled “My Wonderful World of Stories,” is filled with images of children in traditional Korean clothi