Korean Comics: A Society through Small Frames
January 16 - March 16, 2007
The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library
27 West 17th Avenue Mall, Columbus, Ohio
The sleek lines and sci-fi plots of Japanese anime have
generated a large following, but until now, few comics connoisseurs
have known about Korean cartoons. No more. The Korea Society
presents Korean Comics: A Society Through Small Frames,
the first substantial survey of Korean comics to be exhibited
in the U.S. It will be on display at The Ohio State University
Cartoon Research Library from January 16-March 16, 2007,
and is co-sponsored by the Cartoon Research Library, the
Korean Studies Initiative, and the Department of East Asian
Languages and Literature. The exhibit is free and open to
the public weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Tuesday, January 16, the public is invited to a reception
at 4 p.m. to open the exhibit which will be followed at 4:30
p.m. by a lecture titled Reflections from a Manhwabang:
Life and Comics in 1960s Korea by Professor Heinz Insu
Fenkl, director of the Creative Writing Program of the Interstitial
Studies Institute at SUNY New Paltz. His presentation will
be in the seminar room adjacent to the Cartoon Research Library,
021L Wexner.
The exhibition features 83 framed works by 21 of Korea's
most talented cartoonists, drawn over a period of 40 years.
It includes work by artists from both South Korea and North
Korea.
The comics range from the playful to the political. Viewers
will instantly recognize the variety of juvenile comics: Kkobongi,
a mischievous 11 year-old, is South Korea's answer to Calvin
from Calvin and Hobbes. Other panels call for more reflection.
Artists like Park Jae-Dong used their wits and their pens
to illuminate the pervasive social ills in South Korea during
the 1970s and '80s-such as rampant sexism and poverty-overshadowed
by the country's overwhelming economic success.
The show's North Korean comics capture that reclusive country's
economic hardships and strict ideological controls. The
Great General Mighty Wing indoctrinates young readers
through the adventures of a devoutly socialist, anthropomorphic
bee. Other North Korean comics exalt the prestige of the
motherland: World Professional Wrestling King-Ryok To
San is a biographical comic of Kim Sin-Nak, a famous
wrestler from North Korea who became a major figure on the
international wrestling circuit. In the comics, and in North
Korea today, he is glorified as a figure capable of defeating
foreigners and defending the country's honor.
Korean Comics: A Society Through Small Frames is
organized and curated by The Korea Society as part of their
traveling exhibition program. It is currently traveling to
colleges, universities, galleries and nonprofit institutions
across America.
Organizer contact: Jinyoung Kim, Senior Program
Officer, The Arts
The Korea Society
Phone: (212) 759-7525, ext. 316
Fax: (212) 759-7530
jinyoung.ny@koreasociety.org
