What memories do people have when they hear 'childhood innocence'? Many will recall the memory of their first love but for many others, they will recall the imaginative world of fairy tales. Life passes quickly, so many people miss their childhood. Like our dreams, hopes, and innocence that are lost over time, words that symbolize our childhood innocence are gradually forgotten and fade away. Although people cannot return to our youth, there are works that allow us to recall memories bit by bit. By jumping into these works, people can reflect on the days of their innocent childhood and recall memories that have long since been forgotten. 
 

 

Book 

"Grandmother was sitting in God's bright sunshine, and read aloud from the Bible, 'Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God.'" 
-Grandmother   

 

<The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (2015)>

The story begins with the devil heading to the sky with a mirror it invented. The devil drops the mirror which shatters into numerous pieces, spreads throughout the world, becomes embedded in people's bodies. Because of that, people begin to look at the world through distorted lenses. Kai, a boy from the big city who was infected by one of the mirror's shards, became cruel to his friend Gerda. In the past, they often enjoyed happy days of fun together. However, Kai's heart and eyes infected from shards of the mirror hardened and he would often make Gerda suffer. One day, Kai leaves with the Snow Queen, and Gerda starts off on a journey to find her dear friend. She faces many challenges on the way. For instance, at one point in the story, she endures a lengthy stay at an elderly women's garden. She is also caught by bandits, and sometimes must bear the harshness of winter without gloves or boots. However, Gerda is strong, so she uses her inner power that burns from a heart filled with love and child innocence to continue onwards. Eventually she finds Kai at a castle. Now she must work to warm Kai's heart which has become a mass of ice. Will she be able to break Kai's icy heart? Will the two friends once again enjoy friendship and love? 

 

Recommendation 

This book is a sequel to The Snow Queen. It tells the story of Kai, a boy whose heart turns to ice and becomes controlled by the Snow Queen, and Gerda, a girl who sets off on a journey to Lapland, the end of the world, in search of him. Besides a previously mentioned story, there are also storylines that focus on The Shadow, The Little Mermaid, The Little match Girl, The Story of a Mother, and The Wild Swans, and so on. The book contains a variety of stories created by Andersen, so this SMT reporter could see the new stories without feeling bored. The stories make readers feel both compassion and sadness due to tragedy. Moreover, readers jump into fairy tales they once read as children with a perspective of an adult and recall days when they first read the fairy tales. Bae Sooah, the novelist who translated eight of the 200 original Danish fairy tales from German to Korean, said, "Andersen symbolizes my childhood." In other words, the author suggests all readers who become adults will recall their childhood from the story. Reading Andersen's fairy tales, people can heal their weary lives. 
 

 

Movie 

"The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. It was those eyes, something in those dazzling eyes."
-Juli 

 

<Flipped (2010)> 

Juli, though she is only seven years old, falls in love with Bryce at first sight. Bryce is the handsome boy who had just moved into her neighbourhood. However, Bryce views Juli's behavior as tactless and strange. Juli sees Bryce as being shy when she openly expresses her feelings honestly and courageously. Bryce feels burdened by Juli, so he asks another girl on a date to get away from Juli, but it ends in failure. Later in the film, Juli becomes disappointed with Bryce. One day, when Juli's beloved tree is to be chopped down due to construction, she asks Bryce for help in saving the tree, but Bryce does not help and leaves for school. Moreover, Bryce proceeds to constantly toss away Juli's gifts of eggs into the trash. When she realizes what he is doing, she gets upset and begins to avoid him. As Juli starts to disappear from his eyes, Bryce realizes how much he cared about Juli. He seeks her out at school to the point that other students notice his behaviour. However, Juli's mind hasn't changed. One day, Juli's family and Bryce's family, who have not been in a good relationship with each other for a long time, have dinner together, but Juli treats Bryce coldly that day as well. In such a changing situation, will Bryce be able to get Juli to care for him again? How will the love story between the two characters unfold in the future? 
 

 

Recommendation 

The film was released in 2010 under the genre romance, and it was well loved by audiences in Korea. In 2017, Korea released it once more in theatres and brought memories and joy once more to audiences. Many of the actors' and situations draw audiences in. People can relate to the film, recalling their first love from childhood. In particular, people will empathize with the emotions and lines Juli expresses when she tells Bryce how she feels. Viewers will be constantly smiling at the actions of the two young kids. In addition, social problems pointed out by the director of the film give audiences a change to think deeply about them in the real world. In other words, the audience will think about real life problems as well as enjoy the innocence of childhood through the children's love story. Some of the social concerns raised were the behavior of Juli's father who must also care for Juli's mentally challenged brother, and Bryce's father who looks down on Juli's family. The film contains plenty of words of wisdom and reflection that are memorable and helpful in life. Juli's father and Bryce's grandfather also utter a number of good words that make audiences think deeply about the way they see others. Overall, the film stimulates memories of our childhood innocence in terms of our first love experience as well as making audience members contemplate practical problems. It is definitely worth viewing for people who haven't already seen it.