I used dictionaries a lot when I was a student. The internet, mobile phones, and tablets were not as developed then, and it was rare for students to own a phone, so I looked up words in dictionaries. I carried thick Korean and English dictionaries in my bag. Today, it is so easy to search for a word on a phone, and we rely heavily on electronic dictionaries and organizers. It is hard to come across a printed dictionary now. Still, I think children need one to look up their first words and

I have never seen a Korean dictionary this thin and light. As soon as my child saw it, they said, “I wish we’d had this last year when school asked us to bring a Korean dictionary.” It is definitely light and compact. Parents of younger children will especially want it, considering how small their children are. It seems to include the useful, frequently used words needed in everyday life and enough vocabulary for elementary school. I cannot list every word in a dictionary myself, so I cannot be

Even in the digital age, I think one thing we still need is a dictionary. The Elementary Korean Dictionary is a portable dictionary for all elementary school grades from Ganabooks. When I was in elementary school, dictionaries mattered so much that there were contests to see who could find a word fastest. As time passed, it feels as if smartphones took the place dictionaries once held. Schools do not use Korean dictionaries separately, so families need to help children use one at home. The main

When my child asks what a word means, I usually look it up with them in an online dictionary so I can explain it accurately. But once we open a phone, they are easily tempted to watch YouTube or play games and get sidetracked. I had been thinking it would be good to have a physical dictionary for my child, and then I came across this one. It is not bulky for children to use, and it is intended for all elementary school grades. I chose it hoping my child could get used to using a dictionary from

We tend to picture Korean dictionaries as large and heavy, so the first thing that caught my eye was how light this book is and how well its small size fits children’s hands. I also noticed the world flags as soon as I turned the cover. At first I wondered, “Why are flags the first thing in a Korean dictionary?” but I understood immediately after reading the introduction. The author explains that the dictionary was compiled by selecting key words needed in everyday life and learning, to help

These days, as my child starts reading books with more text, they ask me about unfamiliar words. I can explain simple ones right away, but for some I have to check the context, and others are hard to explain clearly, so I look them up on my phone. Perhaps because I solve things so easily for them, sometimes they ask about words they might understand if they thought a little longer. Just as I was thinking I should help them find answers for themselves, I came across the Elementary Korean

As children move into the upper elementary grades, they encounter more and more vocabulary. It would be good to look up each word, but the computer is mostly for games in our house, and the textbooks we already have are so thick and heavy that no one opens them. I had thought it would be nice to have a book with just the vocabulary elementary students need, and I was delighted to find one. It was made to help multicultural families and elementary school children. I even found myself wondering

Elementary Korean Dictionary. These days, I ask my elementary-school child to read for about an hour a day. At first they resisted, grumbled that it was boring, and found it hard, but at some point they started enjoying it and now read fairly well. When they came across an unfamiliar word, they used to ask me what it meant, and I answered each time. Now they ask about every word they don’t know, even while reading a single sentence. They should understand the overall context as they read, but

When I was studying Korean, I learned about dictionaries and used to think that if I knew the exact meaning of every word in one, I would do well in school. But when elementary students see how thick those books are and how small the print is, all those words can feel overwhelming and impossible to learn. I found this book, which gathers essential elementary vocabulary into a lighter dictionary. Here it is! It is from Ganabooks. It is about the size of an adult’s open palm and roughly as thick