『ソウル人のハーフの子』 子供のためのオーディオブック
英語で読める “The Mixed kid from Seoul” の絵本
The Mixed kid from Seoul
Page 1
Wahed was 6 years old, and it was his first day of school in Seoul. It was time for recess, and he was on the playground. He heard some kids calling out, “Who wants to play soccer with us?” Wahed ran over, and he said, “Count me in!” But one tall kid knew Wahed because they lived in the same neighborhood. He whispered something to his friends, and all of them began to laugh.
Page 2
Wahed went over to the kids. Then, the tall kid said, “We don't want to play with you. You’re not Korean.” Wahed was shocked. He was born and raised in Korea. His dad was from Egypt, but his mom was a Korean woman. Wahed had never thought about his race before; nobody had ever mentioned it. Not his friends in kindergarten, and certainly not his family.
Page 3
Wahed spent the rest of the time at recess sitting by himself under a tree. He was sad and angry. He kept looking at his hands and touching his face. When recess was over, Wahed sat quietly in the class. He did not listen to the lesson. He just asked himself over and over again, “Why am I not Korean? What does it mean?”
Page 4
After school, Wahed ran home as fast as he could. He waited for his mom to come home from work. When he heard the house door open, Wahed ran up to his mom, and he asked, “Am I Korean?” His mom immediately guessed what had happened. She expected that some of the kids would not accept Wahed because his father was Egyptian, so she was prepared. She smiled and said, “Let me show you something.”
Page 5
Wahed’s mom took out his Korean passport. She showed him the picture and said, “That’s you. See? You’re Korean.” Then she took out his Egyptian passport. She said “That’s you, too. You’re both Korean and Egyptian.” She saw that Wahed was still confused.
Page 6
Next, Wahed’s mom took out his watercolors. She painted a red dot and a blue dot. She pointed at the red dot. She said, “That’s me.” And she pointed at the blue dot, and she said, “That’s your dad.” Then she said, “In you, there’s a little bit of me, and there’s a little bit of your father.” She painted a smaller red dot, and then she mixed blue paint on top of that. She pointed at the purple dot. She said, “That’s you, Wahed. Look how beautiful you are!”
Page 7
Wahed asked his mom, “Why do the kids think that I’m not Korean?” His mom said, “All people have different ways to see the world. And they have different ways to see people in the world. Some people try to make others angry or sad by saying mean things. If you let those people control you, then that makes them feel powerful.”
