South Korean author and artist Uk-Bae Lee has crafted an enchanting book that contrasts the wildlife that now thrive in the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea with the military men who keep the two peoples apart. Lee’s softly tinted, detailed illustrations hail back to an earlier time, reminding me of Lois Lenski’s Strawberry Girl, Berta and Elmer Haders’s The Big Snow, or any of Marguerite de Angeli’s beautiful books.

In When Spring Comes to the DMZ, a boy and his grandfather observe the seasons come and go in the demilitarized zone, while the grandfather pines for his former home in North Korea. The book is touching and beautiful, as appealing to adults as to children. Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Annick Press in exchange for an honest review.

When Spring Comes to the DMZ is a book of contradictions. It is a statement by a grandfather about his unhappiness being separated from the North but told by a child who has no background in a unified Korea. Through seasonal trips to the wall that borders the DMZ, we are shown how the DMZ - long abandoned by people - is now something of a wildlife refuge. Beautiful paintings show bucolic scenes tempered by razor wire and warnings in Korean.

The ending felt politicized to some extent (written originally in 2010 but advocating reunification at some level) and I wonder if this is the original intent of the author. I worried for all the animals wandering amongst the mines and (probably unwarrantedly) worried children would never grasp how destructive and dangerous the land there and in other demilitarized zones can be. Still, there is nothing like this on the market. For that and the pictures, this book should be considered. But for those libraries with Korean patrons, I would ask them their opinion and I would love to know the opinion of both Korean Americans and South Koreans.

This is a touching story with beautiful illustrations. The story shares the beauty and growth that continues in the DMZ as the narrator's grandfather visits during each season looking north in longing to his home land. Apparently the DMZ is a strip of land that has become a wild life refuge between North and South Korea. Uk-Bae Lee skillfully uses this area to portray its natural beauty while also conveying the sadness of war, separation and loss. In addition to the growth and beauty of the animals and land, there are images showing the soldiers in training.

This is appropriate for children and parents who want to show their children how war and separation causes pain but still provides moments of beauty. I highly recommend it.

Source: NetGalley.

A beautiful depiction of the natural scenery of Korea with accurately painted wildlife juxtaposed with razor wire, unexploded bombs and rusted out train cars. This is a poignant plea for sanity and peaceful reunification of the land and the families caught up in the horrors of a perpetual ceasefire.

This is a children's book that is really more for adults, although I think it is good to let children know that these things are out there, too.

A beautifully illustrated, touching story. Beauty can be found in odd places, and the longing for home is woven throug nicely.

Wow! Not only is this an a compelling and beautiful book, it kindled an interest in me to dig deeper and see the evolution of the DMZ and the two separate countries of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea.

What a way to get people interested in history and the issues facing the peoples of North and South Korea!

Recommended.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Plough Publishing for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book. Over the course of a year we see how the division between North and South Korea affects both the people and the animals who live there. The illustrations are delightful and lively. The character of Grandfather embodies all those who have been impacted by the separation. We live in a global society and a book like When Spring Comes to the DMZ is a valuable tool for parents or teachers who wish to help children understand the life and history of other cultures and peoples.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader copy of this book.

*I was graciously given this e-ARC from Plough Publishing House via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.”

When Spring Comes to the DMZ is both beautifully illustrated, and simply written, to allow readers, young children especially, to understand what the space in the DMZ means for wildlife between North and South Korea.

Uk-Bae Lee is talented, and I enjoyed reading this book, and seeing the untouched wildlife that freely moves through this zone of land separated to bring peace.

I do wish there was a little more history of the DMZ taken into account, but I understand that this may not be readily available to many living in that region, and that this is moreso intended for younger children to be understand.

I don't know how to express how I feel reading this because it is mixed of beautiful yet sad. DMZ is something new to me. Never heard about it before and I am glad I read this book, because I always love book that add something to my knowledge. As a bonus, the illustration is really beautiful. It captured the story really well.
I highly recommended everyone of all age to pick this book up :)

This is a very touching and a beautifully illustrated book. The author is telling us about DMZ, the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea, that is now a zone full of beautiful creatures and vegetation.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this beautiful book.

What a hauntinly beautiful tale. The cover lets you know that there is more to this book, than just forest animals.
That being said, I love the comparison between people in the DMZ and the animals in the DMZ, that animals can come and go, but people can't. It really makes it hit home.

This is such a soft way to show children some of what is going on in the world, the razor wire fence being in each picture, the addition of the soldiers, these things induce questions and creates a conversation.

At the end of the book, there is a glossary of sorts, that allows more conversation. It tells you about the animals in the area, what the DMZ is and more information about the terms in the book. I think this is great for adults reading this to younger readers, it allows them to be able to answer the tough questions that I am sure would come after reading this book.

When Spring Comes to the DMZ is a beautifully illustrated book about the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. It is a land where no human may tread. The unintended consequence of this is that it has become an unofficial nature preserve. Animal and plant life flourish in the DMZ because humans are not there. This has a moral lesson in and of itself. However, it also means that families that were torn apart after the ceasefire of the Korean War were never able to get back together.

Throughout the story we follow grandfather who is constantly looking to the north. He is searching for something that the younger generation does not worry about. After all, they have always lived with the separation of the two countries. However, grandfather remembers when he could easily travel through all of Korea, just like the animals do now.

This is a great book for children who are learning about what the DMZ means and how the consequences of a never -ending war can have not only on the people who fought in it, but for the land and animals it was fought around.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.

When Spring Comes to the DMZ is an important book. It is so easy for much of the world to forget the war that happened more than half a century ago, and the countries and people still affected by it. I spent two years in South Korea with the U.S. Army, and made more than one trip to the DMZ. In a country full of people (Seoul, less than an hour's drive from the DMZ, is HUGE and a beautiful city well worth visiting), the DMZ area is somewhat startling in its emptiness. The illustrations in this book capture the odd juxtaposition of the beautiful wildlife with the razor wire, warning signs, and military equipment.

5/5 stars, highly recommend - every school library should have a copy of this book. I've pre-ordered it to have on my personal shelf at home. I don't foresee it being very popular here in the US, which is a shame, but I want to have it to show people and children a different view of the Korean DMZ. Maybe one day the mines and wire will be gone.

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Wedged between World War Two and Vietnam, the Korean War is often overlooked, even though it still has a huge effect on world issues today.

When Spring Comes to the DMZ (the demilitarised zone that separates North and South Korea) shows what can happen when nature is left to reclaim a place abandoned by humans due to disaster.

The book is also a reminder that – to this day – families are still torn apart by a conflict that began over six decades ago.

The book brings into mind recent stories about other such places (such as the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine), and would make a good starting point for discussions with younger readers both about history and human nature.

Amazing images and thoughtful text combine for a children’s book worth considering. Highly recommended.

The beautiful paintings in this book show the variety of wildlife that has made the DMZ into a place of abundant animal life. Scenes from the changing seasons of the year include salmon swimming upstream to spawn, mountain goats clambering over rocks, and water deer and otters in the river. But readers can also see the fences and troops on each side of the zone, and the rusted pieces of equipment and weapons left behind from the Korean War. A grandfather climbs to the observatory and looks out over the land again and again, then dreams of throwing open the gates and going inside.

The juxtaposition of the animals and their families with the fact that the area is only safe for them because humans from both sides are forbidden to cross is very poignant. Some might see it as something positive coming from that military conflict, but others might sympathize with the grandfather in the story and wish that animals and humans could both exist peacefully in that area without the fences and guards.

This would be useful for comparing/contrasting the types of animals shown in the book with animals from other habitats, or as a followup to a unit on the Korean War.

Thank you NetGalley and Plough Publishing for the DRC.

This is a lovely way to educate children (and adults) on peace and acceptance.
This beautiful picture book takes a look at the wonderful things that can be found in the portion of land held between the fenced in borders of North and South Korea. This area is know as the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and no humans are allowed to set foot on it.
As a result all kinds of plants and animals you may not find anywhere else in Korea flourish and live in harmony there. The author has hope that one day the fences will come down and all the Koreans can live in harmony together as well.
I hope I get to see that too.

What a beautifully illustrated book! I loved the story. Very poignant. My family can relate to it. Some of my family were left in E. Germany after the war. We didn't have any contact with them until 1990. Sadly, for the older generation, they didn't live long enough to reunite with each other, but us cousins enjoyed meeting! For all people divided and separated due to war, don't lose hope, times change and you may all meet again! I hope some day the countries in the story will be united again. Maybe our children and grandchildren will learn to get along better from this tale.
Big Thank You to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book as I couldn't read it on my Kindle or as a PDF file.

When Spring comes to the DMZ is a beautiful but bittersweet story set in the 4 km-wide demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea. Each of the two countries has put up a fence at their respective boundary of the zone to keep people from travelling between the nations. We loosely follow the narrator's grandfather as he makes a pilgrimage to the South Korean fence each season to look longingly to the North through binoculars.

Although the fences are not so great for people, the plants and animals don't see the fences as an obstacle, and without the influence of humans, nature has thrived in the DMZ. Each season has a bit of a description with some gorgeous illustrations about some of the animals that can be found living in the DMZ and what they're doing during that season.

At the back of the book, there is an informative section explaining a bit of the history of the DMZ. This is a great book to start discussions about fences and how they keep people in just as much as they keep people out. I strongly recommend this one for readers of nearly all ages.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Plough Publishing for providing me with a DRC of this book.