★The copyrights of simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese have been sold!
★Winner of YES24 Award for Children’s book
★Included elementary 3rd grade’s textbook
★No.1 Most-selling Children’s Book in first half year of 2019
★Rice Cake Shop Series 1.5 millioncopies Sold
★Recommended by Hanwoori Reading Organization
★Each book in this series has a distinct theme, closely related to children’s growth. Included in South Korean elementary school language textbooks.
★Age 6+

The series includes 9 titles:
1. MANBOK’S RICE CAKE SHOP
2. JANG-GUN’S RICE CAKE SHOP
3. RICE CAKE WISH SHOP
4. YANGSUNY’S RICE CAKE SHOP
5. DALKONG’S RICE CAKE SHOP
6. DOONGSIL’S RICE CAKE SHOP
7. RANG-RANG BROTHER’S RICE CAKE SHOP
8. HAHA SISTER’S RICE CAKE SHOP
9. HAENIM & DALNIM’S RICE CAKE SHOP

Manbok is an only child of a rich family and got all of his family’s love and attention. He is handsome and smart enough to solve difficult math questions. He is just like his name, Manbok: receiving tens of thousands of blessings. The only problem he had was he happened to say bad words and do bad things against his willing. Naturally he is called the foul-mouthed, grumpy, and a fire-eater. While he was growing up, he was surrounded by family who said only yes to him, so he just did whatever he wanted to do without considering other people’s feeling. Therefore, his school friends tried to avoid him who bullied friends, said bad things to girls, and hurt other’s feeling. His grandfather, grandmother and parents were worried about him very much.

One day, Manbok found a strange rice cake cafe, called ‘Manbok’s Rice Cake House’! Manbok got curious about the café with his name on. But above all, he liked rice cakes a lot. Hooked by sweet and delicious smell, he found himself in the café. But each rice cake was attached with odd price tag! If you want to eat a bubble cake, you need to do two nice behaviors. If you want to eat a honey cake, you need nine laughs of friends. For a mugwort cake, you need forty-two laughs of friends. Price of backseolgi, which will make your heart as white as snow flake, is a whopping 5999 laughs. As there was no one but Manbok in the café and Manbok had never done anything nice anyway, he tried to steal cakes: but when he tried to pick a piece, it disappeared.
Manbok had no choice: he had to do good so he could eat rice cakes. After he ate a sticky rice cake finally, his lips were stuck to each other and he could not say a word. Without saying anything, especially bad words, he helped friends. He managed to do two nice things to eat a bubble cake which turned out to make him keep smiling. Since then, he behaved himself to buy delicious cakes, and compliments from friends and family turned him into a truly nice boy. This magical power that he earned from cakes played as catalyst for stimulating even nicer behaviors. Manbok who had been upset about bad words and behaviors against his will used this power to change himself to a person as warm and tender as soft cakes. He finally learned the easy but valuable lesson about how to live happy – Making your friends smile makes you happy. Later one day, after he ate a mugwort cake, helping him hear others’ mind, he happened to be hit by Jang-gun while he tried to help Jang-gun. Pissed Manbok was about to strike back, but he heard Jang-gun’s mind that he also regretted about his punch against his will. Understanding him, Manbok forgave the friend. On his way home, he passed by the cafe, and he found something changed. The name changed to ‘Jang-gun’s Rice Cake House’. Manbok knew what it meant, and grinned passing by the café

The story portraits everyday lives of children with wit and full imagination. By combining fantasy technique with the traditional Korean rice cakes, ttoek, the story is read somewhat like a traditional story with unique fun. The illustrator also succeeded in capturing changes of Manbok’s facial expressions with his original drawing.

written by Kim Lily
Kim graduated from Chung-Ang University with a degree in Child Welfare and made her literary debut in a monthly literary magazine, Literature for Children. Books authored by Lily Kim include Mr. Black Pencil, Starworld Bathhouse, Wang Bongsik Is Friends with a Fly, and Mom Is a Liar.

Illustrated by Seung-hyun Lee
Seung-hyun Lee studied illustration at the HILLS Illustration School and the Graduate School of University of Seoul. Books authored by Lee Seunghyun include Blue House, a story about a brutal crackdown that happened in Yongsan. Lee received the Illustration Award at the Korean Children's Book Awards for his picture book Ssireum. Lee has illustrated children's books such as Looking for the Son-in-Law Who's Good at Lying, Eunuch, the Man of King, and My D'Artagnan