Bacci Kid × H Mart · Korean Market Adventure

Bacci Kid H Mart
Bacci Kid × H Mart

Bacci’sMarket Adventure

Six golden doors. Real finds from the H Mart aisles, stories from Halmeoni Horangi, a few Korean words and a full moon to breathe with. Scan, tap, play, together.

IIIIIIIVVVISix doors · six stamps
Bacci
Halmeoni Horangi: Eoseo oseyo, come in, come in! I am the grandmother tiger of the old folk paintings, and I know every stall here. Tap a golden door.
I · The Market Gate

Welcome, come in.

In Korea, the warmth between people has a name: jeong. It is the extra scoop a vendor slips into your bag, the banchan that keeps getting refilled, an H Mart cart filling up with things to share. It is why every shopper in Hartsdale hears eoseo oseyo: come in, come in.

Bacci: We made it to the market! First, tell Halmeoni Horangi how your crew is feeling. Then take your Korean passport: six doors, six stamps, tteok (rice cakes) to collect, and a surprise on the last one.
How is your crew feeling? Check-in
Tap the one that fits. Every feeling is welcome here.
0Tteok
0Best
GuestTable
Today’s family quest
여권 · MY KOREAN PASSPORT
🏮🍙🥟🌕한🎉
Visit every door to fill your passport.
Table talkHow can we make someone feel welcome, like family, today?
Three tapsScan. Play. Talk.
Your paceCheon-cheon-hi. One aisle, or stay for the food court.
Grown-upsThe stories belong to everyone. The checkout belongs to you.
Taking H Mart home tonight?Grown-ups: shop online at hmart.com, or visit the Hartsdale store on North Central Avenue.
Shop ↗
H MartBacci Kid
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.
II · Snack Aisle

Fill your basket with feelings.

Every aisle at H Mart carries a feeling: the snack aisle, the kimchi corner, the rice-cake counter, the food court. Tap the finds that match your day. Every feeling is welcome in this basket.

Kkachi the Magpie: Good news, good news! I spot the best finds from up here. Fill your basket and I’ll tell you what each one means. Then start the timer and pass the phone around.
🧺
Your market basket is waiting for its first feeling.
Table talk 60 seconds each
60
Table talkNunchi means reading the room with kindness. Look around right now: who needs something passed to them?

Kids’ first finds

Grown-ups: easy wins from the H Mart aisles and the Hartsdale food court.

  • Choco Piesnack aisle · the classic lunchbox treat
  • Pepero stickssnack aisle · cookie sticks dipped in chocolate
  • Banana milkdairy case · the little yellow bottle
  • Roasted seaweed packsseaweed aisle · crispy, salty, melts on the tongue
  • Mild tteokbokkirice-cake counter · chewy and sweet, not spicy
  • Korean corn dogfood court · cheese or sausage, grown-ups handle the hot part
Fill a cart from the Snack AisleShop online at hmart.com or in store. Grown-ups handle the checkout.
Shop ↗
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.
III · Grandmother’s Kitchen

Halmeoni’s stories.

Halmeoni Horangi: Sit by my stove, little one. Tap a story and I will tell it. Each one ends with a question for your table. Then pledge a kind act and help me fold the mandu.

1. Bacci at the Market Gate

Bacci was nervous. A new country, new letters on every sign, lanterns everywhere. He stood at the stone gate of the night market holding his basket tight. Then a magpie landed on the gate and chattered, “Good news, good news!” That was Kkachi. In Korea a magpie means a good guest is coming.

A vendor halmeoni waved him over, pressed a warm hotteok into his paws and said, “Eoseo oseyo, come in!” She would not take a coin for it. Bacci’s worry melted like the brown sugar inside. That is jeong: warmth given before it is asked for.

Who made you feel welcome somewhere new?

2. Kkachi and the Tiger

In the old Korean folk paintings there is always a tiger and a magpie. From far away the tiger looks fierce; up close she is round-cheeked and a little silly, and the magpie teases her from a pine branch. That tiger is me, and that magpie is Kkachi.

When Bacci first saw my stripes, he hid behind a sack of rice. Kkachi laughed. “Look again!” So Bacci looked, and saw my spectacles, my hanbok collar, and the pot of rice cakes I was stirring for everyone. “Oh,” he said. “You are a grandmother.” Some things look scary from far away and turn out kind up close.

When did someone turn out to be kinder than you expected?

3. The Banchan Table

At the food court the table filled with little dishes: kimchi, spinach, bean sprouts, fish cake. Bacci reached for the biggest bowl and pulled it close. “Mine!”

Halmeoni did not scold him. She slid the little dishes to the middle, one by one. “Banchan is not for one. It is for all. Watch.” She noticed Kkachi had no spinach yet and passed it before anyone asked. That is nunchi: reading the table with your eyes and your heart. Bacci pushed the big bowl back to the middle, and somehow it tasted better from there.

Who at our table needs something passed to them right now?

4. Dalbit and the Songpyeon

On Chuseok, the harvest moon night, everyone sat on the floor shaping half-moon rice cakes called songpyeon. Grandfather pressed the dough, Grandmother tucked in the sesame and honey, and Bacci made lumpy ones like little pillows. “Good,” said Halmeoni. “A lumpy songpyeon still tastes like a wish.”

Then the children bowed low to the grandparents, the way Korean families do, to say thank you for every year before this one. That is hyo. Dalbit rose over the roofs, fat and gold, and every face turned up to make a wish.

What would you like to thank a grandparent, or any elder, for?

5. The Stew That Stopped Bubbling

Jiho dropped his bungeoppang in the parking lot and the sweet red bean spilled out on the ground. His face went hot and red. “I am angry at everything!” he shouted, fists tight.

Halmeoni put a pot of kimchi stew on the stove and turned the flame up high. The stew bubbled and spat, just like Jiho. “Watch,” she said, and turned the flame down. The bubbles got slower. Slower. The stew did not go cold; it got its flavor. “Hwa, anger, is a flame,” said Halmeoni. “It is allowed. It only needs the fire turned down.” Jiho breathed in slow like the steam, out slow like the steam, and his fists opened. Then they went back in and picked a new bungeoppang together.

What helps your pot stop bubbling when it gets too hot?

Jeong challenge Pledge a kind act
Mandu Harvest 30 second game
🥟 0⏱ 30
Tap Start, then tap every mandu you see. Golden persimmons are worth three.
Best: 0
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.
IV · Moonlight

Breathe with Dalbit.

Dalbit the Moon: Watch me glow over the market roofs. Breathe in as I grow full. Breathe out as I slip gently behind Namsan hill. Four slow rounds and the whole table is softer.
Table talkName one thing that felt peaceful today.
Moonlight body scan Grown-up reads it
Meditation ConsoleMore breathing and quiet games.Feelings ConsoleEvery feelings wheel and check-in.
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.
V · Word Garden

Speak a little Korean.

Halmeoni Horangi: Hangul is the Korean alphabet, made so anyone could learn to read. Tap a word to hear it, then say it at the H Mart checkout and watch their face light up. Below, my feelings dictionary: eight Korean feelings, each with something to try.
Korean feelings dictionary Tap to open
기쁨Gippeum · Joy

Try this: Tell the table one thing that made you smile today.

슬픔Seulpeum · Sadness

Try this: Sadness is allowed at the table. Say “I feel seulpeum” and let someone sit close.

두려움Duryeoum · Fear

Try this: Name the fear out loud. It shrinks when it is shared. Then breathe with Dalbit.

화Hwa · Anger

Try this: Turn the flame down like Halmeoni’s stew: hands flat, three slow breaths, then say what you need.

평화Pyeonghwa · Peace

Try this: Picture the full moon over quiet roofs. Where in your body feels quiet right now?

사랑Sarang · Love

Try this: Make a finger heart at someone and say why you are glad they are here.

자부심Jabusim · Pride

Try this: Share one thing you worked hard on this week. Hwaiting!

감사Gamsa · Gratitude

Try this: Thank the person who cooked, and the person who pushed the cart.

Table talkSay “Jal meokgesseumnida” together before the first bite. It means: I will eat well, thank you.
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.
VI · Chuseok Party

Hwaiting!

Chuseok is the Korean harvest moon festival. Families travel home, shape half-moon rice cakes called songpyeon, bow to grandparents, and dance ganggangsullae in a circle under the full moon. The cheer the whole table shouts: Hwaiting!

Halmeoni Horangi: At Chuseok we shape songpyeon together and make a wish on each one. Tap to press your songpyeon against mine. The one that stays whole keeps the wish; the other floats up as a full moon for the whole table.
🥮🥮
You vs Halmeoni. Ready?
Halmeoni’s spin: a tiny dare for the whole table.
GanggangsullaeHold hands in a circle. Step, clap on the beat, faster, faster!
Hwaiting! cheerPoint at someone who did something hard today and shout it together.
Chopstick practicePick up one rice cake with chopsticks, no hands. Cheer for every try.
Table talkWhat makes you feel heung, full of bubbling joy?
More Bacci table games Free
Kids Feelings GameLittle hands, big smiles.Teen HubBrave talk for big kids.Museum PortalsWonder rooms to explore.Printables StudioFree pages to color and keep.Feelings ConsoleWheels and check-ins.Meditation ConsoleQuiet games to breathe.
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.
Bacci Kid · Korea Collection

Take Korea home.

Bacci: Loved our market trip? Keep the Korean magic going at home, chopsticks and all. Grown-ups make the purchases.
🥢
Chopstick Challenge Table KitPrintable table games for little chopstick hands
$3.33Get it
🎓
Chopstick Academy Practice PackPractice pages, from pinch to pro
$5.55Get it
🏮
Korea Digital VacationThe full market trip, passport and printables
$5.55Get it
🍱
Market Manners & Culture SetKorean words, table manners, pages to color
$33.33Get it
🎁
Trip + Chopsticks BundleVacation plus both chopstick packs. Best value
$55.55Get it
👑
Market Adventure All-AccessEverything, plus bonus stories and feelings dictionary cards
$99.99Get it
Grown-ups make the purchases. Every door on this page stays free: Bacci Kid’s mission is free, kind, positive things for kids everywhere.
Created by Dr. Jamie J. Karia, DSW, LCSW
Dr. J signature
Bacci Kid games are for fun and family connection, not medical, psychological or emergency advice. Under 13 plays with a grown-up. In a crisis call 911, or call or text 988.