Continue your Korean reading journey with our latest Korean Classic Reader: Where the Garden Blooms (비밀정원).
This A2-level graded reader is written entirely in Korean and designed for upper beginner learners to build reading fluency and confidence - without needing a dictionary.
What's this story about?
Set in early 1980s Geoje Island, Korea, Where the Garden Blooms tells the story of Su-jin, a girl who loses her family and is sent to live with distant relatives. Alone in an unfamiliar place, Su-jin finds an old, forgotten garden and slowly begins to connect with two classmates. As they restore the garden together, Su-jin opens her heart to friendship, hope, and healing.
Inspired by
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this Korean adaptation is a warm and quiet story of growth, recovery, and connection - designed especially for Korean learners.
Chapters
1. 이수진, 거제도로 오다
2. 새로운 아침
3. 지민과 비밀
4. 거제도 학교
5. 비밀 탐험대의 시작
6. 정원의 비밀
7. 숨겨진 마음들
8. 피어나는 봄의 정원
Who is this book for?
• A2-level (upper beginner / pre-intermediate) Korean learners
• Learners who want to read full Korean stories independently
• Self-learners preparing for TOPIK I or using basic Korean textbooks
Each Korean Classic Reader can be enjoyed on its own. You can start with any title that matches your interest or level.
What's inside?
• A short, easy-to-read story using beginner grammar and vocabulary
• Footnotes for key words and expressions, collected at the end of each chapter
• Culture notes and grammar explanations drawn from the story
• A multiple choice vocabulary quiz with a full answer key
• A complete glossary of every key word in the book
• Audio recordings for all eight chapters, available to download
About the audio
Audio recordings for all chapters are available to download from the Sophora Books website. The download link is included at the back of the book, along with a QR code you can scan from your phone. Listening while you read helps you take in intonation, sentence rhythm, and natural pronunciation - the parts of Korean that are hard to get from the page alone.
About the series
The Korean Classic Reader series takes stories you already know and replants them in Korea. Knowing where the story goes leaves you free to notice the Korean. Alongside adaptations of world classics, the series also retells the short stories Koreans grow up reading, moved into a Korea you would recognize today.
This ebook edition contains the complete graded reader, with the audiobook available as a separate download.
