The Turtle Ship

Sun-sin is a little Korean boy, and his best friend is a turtle named Gobugi. They play together every day and like to sit together on the sand. Sun-sin would daydream about all the places in the world he could go.

One day, the king announced that whoever designed the best ship would get ten bags of copper coins and be allowed to sail with the royal navy. Sun-sin decided to try to make a ship. His first ship fell apart because it was too flimsy, and his second ship sank because it was too heavy. But Sun-sin looked at his friend Gobugi and had an idea!

The family traveled to the royal palace and presented their idea to the king. Sun-sin said they should fashion a ship after a turtle, but everyone laughed. However, when a cat attacked Gobugi, scratching and biting, everyone paid attention. The cat’s claws and teeth slipped over Gobugi’s shell, and he was not hurt.

Will the king award Sun-sin the prize and build a turtle ship? I love this story and the details in the pictures. They are beautiful! My favorite part is when Gobugi is sneaking bites of lettuce in the garden.