A children’s book by a Korean author was published in the Czech Republic last week, just in time for the country’s biggest international book fair.

It is the first time a Korean work of children’s literature has been published in the Czech Republic.

The book, titled “Dream about Joy of Music,” is written by children’s writer Park Eun-young and illustrated by Koo Bo-ram. The book chronicles the life of the legendary classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).

The Czech Embassy in Seoul said the book’s publication was especially meaningful because no children’s book by a Korean author has been published in their country before.

“The book’s publication is an important inroad into the Czech book market, where many of its children’s writers and illustrators have been awarded the Hans Christian Award, often dubbed the Nobel Prize of children’s literature,” said the embassy in a statement.

According to the Czech Embassy, some 150 Korean books have previously been translated into Czech. The books include Korean classics such as the works of Kim Man-jung and collections of poetry by Ko Un. The embassy also said there were some 20 Korean comic books that have been published in the Czech Republic.

Many Czech writers have been popular with Korean readers, including Milan Kundera and Franz Kafka. Some 50 Czech children’s books have also been translated into Korean and are available in local bookstores.

Last year, some 10 works of Czech literature were translated and published in Korea.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)