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Vol.6 Winter 2009
(Page 32-35) |
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Drawing a New Korean Aesthetic |
 By Seo Chan-hwe (manhwa critic) |
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Cartoonist Kim Donghwa
Kim Donghwa is the cartoonist behind the exquisite
stories that
have made their way around the world,
including Fairy Pink (1984),
The Color of Earth
(1995), and Red Bicycle (2003).
Manhwa critic and comic book enthusiast Seo Chan-hwe
went in search of
the man behind the comics. |
I met Kim Donghwa at his house cum studio located near
Hongik University. Since last year, Kim has been busy as the
face of Korean comics, presiding as the 24th President of the
Korea Cartoonist Association. He also chairs the operating
committee for the Bucheon International Comics Festival, and
is co-chair of this year’s committee for the 100th Anniversary of Manhwa (Korean comics). His many duties keep his days busy.
When I asked how he has been, Kim gave me an
embarrassed grin and replied that his work with these
organizations has kept him out of the studio more than
expected. “An artist has to spend a lot of time at his desk in
order to produce good work...” The sorrow of having to put
aside artistic work in favor of putting in appearances showed in
his face, but just as suddenly his “presidential” face reappeared,
and our talk turned to three main topics. |
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First, to welcome the 100th anniversary of Korean comics
and the 50th anniversary of early modern Korean comics,
was the issue of improving the quality of Korean comic books
in order to overcome the limits that had been imposed by
social pressure and state censorship. Second, we discussed the
diversification of comic book readership, in order to encourage
older people who look down on comics to instead become
readers who appreciate the genre. Finally, the globalization of
Korean comics concerns publishing them, by utilizing their
existing strengths, including their strong human infrastructure,
and adapting the comics to the respective culture of each
foreign market. Kim feels that the time is ripe for promoting
these issues, and says with a smile, “There is a crushing amount
of work to be done, but Korean comic books must prevail. So I
have no choice but to leave the studio to ensure that future for
us.”
However, these tasks are also Kim Donghwa’s personal goals.
Currently, all of his books are being published as finely-bound
hardcovers that can be displayed on a shelf without looking
cheap. He has also been creating comic books, like Red Bicycle, that can be read by adults as well as children, and generating a wider readership. These works have been praised for breaking
down the stereotypes of Asian comics that exist in other
countries, particularly in Europe. He continues to agonize over
his own brand, which is based on his own experiences, as well as
the future of Korean comics in general. “When you meet people
halfway, you create a reader,” he emphasizes.
Kim Donghwa is an artist who transforms himself constantly
in order to tell the stories he wishes to tell. He was first known
as a writer of romance comics for female readers, with such
titles as Our Story (1970) and Fairy Pink. But at some point,
he switched his focus to comics for young male readers, such
as Insect Boy (1988) and Run, Thunderboy, Run (1990), which
then led to the pursuit of a distinctly Korean aesthetic: The Ugly (1997), The Color of Earth, and The Story of Kisaeng (1996).
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Manhwa critic Seo Chan-hwe and cartoonist Kim Donghwa |
He followed that up with yet another self-transformation by
publishing comics like Red Bicycle that addressed universal
emotions and themes, such as daily life in a country home and
the lives of the older generation set in a country village.
Though he had stories to tell, it was not always easy to
change his drawing style to match. He switched to boys’ comics
in order to overcome the restrictions of romance comics,
which demand only “pretty things.” Later, during a slump in
his career, he was inspired by director Im Kwon-taek’s film Seopyonje (1993) and began pursuing a “Korean aesthetic.”
After much research, he began drawing “shorter characters with
slanted eyes and softer jawlines.” When he crossed back over
to modern subjects, he adopted the cursive style of drawing
that was popular in the 1970s—the same period in which the
current older generation was the main consumers of comics. By
changing his style to match his readers’ preferences, Kim’s work
continued to evolve.
To draw women, Kim practiced with pencil drawings for six months in order to capture the beauty of the Korean eye. It
took that long to overcome the strictures of the romance comic
style, which is dominated by Western beauty ideals. When I
asked him whether he doesn’t simply enjoy changing his style,
he shook his head. His response showed that the process of
change is indeed never simple.
I asked Kim Donghwa what he, as the president of the
Korea Cartoonist Association and as a comic book veteran,
thought was the strong point of Korean comics. He responded,
“If you think of it in terms of sports, it’s like rugby.” In other
words, amidst the emotions of a society that had no choice but
to be reckless in order to develop within a short period of time,
many original works leapt forth, to everyone’s surprise. Though
state censorship during the periods of military dictatorship left
much to be desired, he said, many innovative works such as
webtoons have been emerging recently as this pressure has been
reduced.
“We’ve overcome countless invasions by foreign powers
and survived Japanese colonization, the Korean war, and
modernization. Those are dramatic turns not seen in many
other countries. We are a country that endured a difficult
history, and that has racial aspects other people have not
experienced. Yet we’ve risen to 10th place in the world. I think
that Korean comics have the power to unravel these different
subjects and diverse stories, and I think we have the strength to
sublimate that pain into art. I have faith in us.” |
1. The Story of Kisaeng published in French.
(Histoires de Kisaeng, Paquet )
2. The Color of Earth published in French.
(Histoire Couleur Terre, Casterman) |
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Kim Donghwa, who has published many works abroad,
is currently working on a 70-page comic, tentatively titled The Boy and the Soldier, which is scheduled for publication by
Casterman, a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics. The story
is about a Korean boy who meets a French soldier during the
Korean War. Kim says that half of the story will be told at the
time of the Korean War, while the other half will take place
50 years in the future, when the boy meets the soldier’s wife in
France.
Kim also says that he would like to write a comic book
based on his granddaughter, as he has recently become a
grandfather himself. He plans to title it Habi, which is baby talk
for harabeoji, “grandfather” in Korean. He said that he was so
overwhelmed by how sweet and adorable his granddaughter was
that his mind naturally turned to the idea of creating a comic
book. “There must be tons of ‘beginner grandpas’ like me in
the world,” he said with a laugh. “The story would be about
a beginner grandpa taking his granddaughter out for a special
date or that sort of thing, and there would probably be some
stories about the family and people in the neighborhood.”
Kim Donghwa believes in diversifying his readership and the
subjects he writes about to appeal not only to readers around
the world but also to entertain older readers in the 60 to 70 year
age group. With his stylish red checkered pants, long ponytail,
and eyes that tear at the thought of his mother who has always
been one of his strongest influences, Kim is constantly working
and moving forward as the face of Korean comics. I wish him
well on the road ahead. |
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