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Zusatztext “Each post teaches a lesson, shares a memory and carries a personal message.” “Grandpa Chan turned to Instagram, using it as a storytelling tool to share the pictures he draws for his beloved three grandsons.” “Enchanting!" –BBC "Beautiful way to stay in touch with grandchildren.” – The Telegraph “Grandpa Chan uses Instagram and art to connect with his grandkids.” –NBC Today "This is a story about love and transformation." –NPR Informationen zum Autor Grandpa Chan & Grandma Marina Klappentext Based on the Webby award-winning Instagram account Drawings for My Grandchildren, this beautifully-illustrated book celebrates the special love shared between grandparents and their grandchildren. Like many grandparents wishing to stay close to their grandchildren in a world in which so many families are spread across the globe, Korean grandparents Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina, decided to learn how to use Instagram as a way to stay connected. What started as an intimate family project, their Instagram page @drawings_for_my_grandchildren has attracted a large following and their story has been featured in major press around the world. This book inspired by their Instagram page features Chan's watercolors accompanied by Marina's texts. Whether it's to celebrate Astro becoming a big brother to Lua or to share the story of how the grandparents met for the first time and fell in love during their college years, Looking Back Life was Beautiful echoes with the kind of family love that spans generations and traverses geography. A testament to the great wisdom only grandparents can provide to younger generations, Looking Back Life Was Beautiful will inspire families to always stay close and connected. Leseprobe FOREWORD Today, as we do every day, we’re thinking of what to draw next. We are always searching for inspiration and talking over our ideas and then, when my husband draws a picture, I write something to go with it. Though my husband wouldn’t call himself an artist, and I wouldn’t call myself a writer, we keep going. Ah! But there’s a little more to it. Whenever I think of what we do now, there is a word that always comes to mind and makes my heart jump, so I have to spend a moment calming myself down. The word is in-yeon and it means something like a fated meeting, a destined connection. We were both born in Seoul in 1942, the year of the horse. And entered Seoul National University’s College of Education in 1961, where we met. It happened at the beginning of our third year, when there was a poems and paintings exhibition held in our college. I submitted a very short poem entitled “Apple,” and another student I had never met before was assigned to illustrate my poem. From the very moment I saw it, I was so pleased with the painting for my poem. It was an abstract painting, and it was perfect for my poem; it made me appreciate anew the words I had written. Filled with joy, I looked at the student who had painted the picture. It was Chan Jae Lee. On the final day of the exhibition all the participating stu- dents celebrated with a popcorn party. And, realizing that our routes home went in the same direction, the two of us ended up walking together. Who would have thought that the seed of a new in-yeon planted in 1963— that poem and complementary painting—which brought us together and grew into our love, would grow new shoots fifty-two years later in 2015, and produce such a lovely bloom as this book in 2020, when we are ap- proaching eighty. We both lived through the Korean War at the same age and spent our childhoods in poverty before making it to university, so there are many traits and experiences that we share. While Chan Jae was away for three years completing his compulsory military service, I suffer...
