LET'S PLAY DDAKJI

A childhood game helps a Korean boy learn that winning isn’t everything.

In this Korean import, Kim Woo watches as neighborhood kids play ddakji, a Korean childhood game played with handmade folded tiles typically made with paper. Each player takes turns throwing their ddakji in hopes of flipping over their opponent’s; the winner gets to keep their opponent’s flipped ddakji. Last year, while visiting his aunt in rural Hameupri, Woo played with kids at the community center but lost to a girl named Gorin; this year, Woo plans to make his ddakji the heaviest and, he believes, the best. A mix of textures and colors with fine lines creates a bold portrayal of Woo as he rushes to test his thick, gold ddakji and enjoys a winning streak in the neighborhood only to lose his coveted ddakji to Gorin and her much older ddakji. Crushed, Woo becomes obsessed with beating Gorin, eventually deciding to visit her house to ask for his ddakji back. When he arrives, Gorin reveals her own ddakji museum in memory of her father, revealing the stories of the community from her collection. Humbled, Woo rediscovers the simple joys of the game. Though the dialogue-heavy narrative does a lot more telling than showing, the protagonist’s realization that there’s more to life than winning will resonate. Notes on the origin of the game and instructions for making ddakji follow. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A charming tale of rediscovery and community.