Okchundang Candy

by Jung-soon Go, Aerin Park (Translator)

I still remember that house filled with summer...

Growing up, Jung-soon spent every moment she could at her grandparents' house. Dressing up and watching cartoons. Dyeing each other's fingernails with crushed balsam petals. Getting the whole neighborhood together to sweep their streets. Falling asleep together...just the three of them, happy.

Grandfather was Grandmother's best and only friend. On every Jesa day, during the ancestral ritual, he would gently place the okchundang candy in her mouth, a big smile spreading across her face as it melted on her tongue.

But nothing ever stays the same, and as Jung-soon got older, so did her grandparents. With breathtaking colored pencil and watercolor art, she presents an achingly beautiful graphic novel about the little joys and sharp sorrows that make up a life together as a family.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Family, Nonfiction, Grief, Biography, Middle Grade

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you want to cry your eyes out today? Maybe ruminate on the fleeting nature of life and the bittersweet endurance of true love? Spiral over our inevitable mortal ends? Have I got a book for you :) :) :) :)

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel by Jung-soon Go translated from the Korean by Arron Park is the bittersweet autobiographical story of war orphans who married and raised a family. It is told through their granddaughter, Jung-soon.
Her illustrations are sweet and fit the story so well. There is a softness to the colors and the images. The text is sparse but what is there is both uplifting and sad.
Jung-soon spends much time with her grandparents and enjoyed watching how much they cared for and loved one another, unlike her own parents who are constantly arguing.
There is sorrow as one grandparent dies and another develops Alzheimer’s but we are left with the hope that they are reunited at last.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. Sad and beautiful.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

CW: war (mentioned), death of parents (mentioned), cancer, terminal illness, death of grandparents, grief, Alzheimer's, excrement

I would like to thank Edelweiss and Levine Querido for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Emotionally beautiful, Okchundang Candy tells the story of one couple's love for each other through the lens of their granddaughter reflecting on her childhood with them. Jung-soon Go's simplistic artwork of hand drawn illustrations and water colors give an almost scrapbook/diary feel to the book that helps set the stage for this story. I also loved how Jung-soon Go focuses on the dynamics of Grandpa and Grandma and how their life together influences the events of the book.

Though, the story is powerfully poignant in themes of love transcending above all and the impact of losing a close loved one, there's not as much character development in the book. I would've liked hearing a little bit more about how the author's time with her grandparents and her subsequent role as a caregiver for her grandparents ultimately shaped her since this is technically a graphic memoir.

Nevertheless, it's a really good book and you can't just help but be swept away to the timeless feeling of a love that stands the test of time.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed reading translated children's books, as they are so interesting and different than what you might typically expect from a picture book. Take Okchundang Candy, for example. It's cataloged in my library system as a YA graphic novel, but that doesn't seem quite right. The illustrations could be for elementary school, but the subject matter is pretty morose (the decline and death of grandparents). I also wouldn't classify it as a graphic novel, since there aren't any panels in the book. BUT it is over 100 pages!

There's also something so unapologetically Korean about the book (and other translated works I've read). It's hard to truly translate these books since there's a lot of cultural context necessary. But it was an interesting, thought provoking read that tells an intimate portrait of grief and loss.

Ages 10+

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For middle schoolers to adults, a touching tale of the author’s grandparents’ love for one another. During summer visits, he witnesses their sweetness in contrast to his own fighting parents. His grandfather looks after everyone, including his small, shy, quiet wife. The grandfather discovers lung cancer late, and dies soon after; he and his wife tried to live normally for each moment, although he gave her bits of practical advice—like don’t be cheap about toilet paper. The grandmother, over the next 20 years, gradually disappears into Alzheimers, becoming more childlike. The family eventually cannot take care of her and put her in a nursing home. As she fades more and more, the author knows she is waiting to join her husband, and shows that happening, when the grandfather comes to get her and gives her the sweets he knew were her favorite.

Families, memories and caring.

Is this for kids? Not at all sure.

[Elena L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

OKCHUNDANG CANDY by Jung-soon Go (tr. Aerin Park) is a love letter to all grandmas and grandpas. Inspired by the author's own experiences, I found the most heartwarming the intimate dynamics between grandpa and grandma, their companionship something that deeply touched me. Jung-soon spent every moment she could at her grandparents' house and this graphic memoir centers around things that come with aging (grief, sickness,...), the events made me tear up. The simplistic yet impactful illustrations are emotionally laden, brimming with a tenderness and melancholy that linger even after the final pages.

[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Levine Querino . All opinions are my own ]

[Victoria Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've categorized this as a "picture book" but really, it's an adult graphic novel about family and the inevitable losses that come with time, in picture book format.
A poignant story of a beloved, quiet grandmother and a life-loving grandfather, and the arc of their sweet relationship as seen through the eyes of author, Jung Soon. Simple drawings expertly convey happiness, silliness, love and sorrow, and spare text allows the reader to take their time with each panel and character. I will leave it at that - it's really a book to sit with, not talk about.

We never want these relationships to end, do we?

Thank you to the publisher for the digital F&G of this book.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rough sketching of this graphic novel biography isn't what many young readers would be used to so it might not be as well received as others in the category, however the messaging of the story is one that is endearing as a kid watches his grandparents age. As her grandfather gets ill and passes away, and then how her grandmother reacts and ages herself.

It's hitting a trend of books for youth about aging and recognizing the shifts in physical and mental abilities of their grandparents. It's a generational story in three parts.

[Irina Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why so sad TT
I didn't get to meet my grandpa because he passed before I was born, but reading this book make me wonder if both of my grandparents also live like that, full of sweetness and love, as my grandma didn't seems to smile a lot.
Thank you for the great book + the illustrations are so pretty.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a sweet and slightly bitter, atmospheric, quick picture book for older readers. It absolutely went down like an okchundang candy: the heartfelt, homemade-feeling illustrations made me hearken back to my days living on Jeju, while I could identify so much with her nostalgia for her grandfather and her mixed feelings about her grandmother's decline. Definitely misty-eyed at the end.

[Erin]

A sweet story of memory, and a loving ode to the author's grandparents. Told in three sections: the first focuses on happy summer memories, the second describes the experience of losing her grandfather to lung cancer, and the third describes her grandmother's decline through Alzheimer's.

Overwhelmingly sad, but so relatable.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really sure on the category for this one- graphic novel? picture book? for kids? for adults?
Jung-soon Go tells the beautiful and sad story of spending time with her grandparents and of their passing. The colors and words are muted and soft, but there is a lot of emotion packed into this story.

[Allison]

Is it a graphic novel? Is it a picture book? This title is incredibly poignant, whichever way you want to classify it. A reflection on relationships, aging, life, death, grief... for such a short volume, it makes an impact.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want the perfect definition of heartachingly beautiful, this picture book/comic hybrid will give it to you.

[Patricia Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sad book that had me tearing up.

[Dolores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Achingly sweet and sad.

[DaNae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poignant tribute to the author’s grandparents. Heartbreaking and at times funny.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss my grandma.

[Orinthia Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

#22 - 2025

[Selar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Achingly beautiful. Stunning and full and wonderful. I'll recommend it to everyone.

[Anna Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew a children’s graphic novel would make me cry 😭😭oh, my heart

[revee · Rating 5 out of 5]

NANGIS BANGETTT😭😭

[CYBILS Awards]

Recommended to us by Rachael at Do Good with Books. See her review here, on the book's main page.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Beautifully written and illustrated. It's simplicity is its strength in this GN about aging.

Highly recommended for MS, HS and adults.


such a beautiful story. I couldn’t resist reading it again.