Hi class 777. Thanks for reminding me of my love to graphic novels when I felt so lost about what to do with this blog.
Here's a quick list of Korean graphic noves in English at Wiki. Hope it would do until I can come up with some numbers of graphic novels of Korean Americans. Those on Wiki are Manwhas, Korean equivalent of Japanese Mangas, being translated in English as a response to the popularity of graphic novels here in US. Considering the humongous size of Manwha reservoir, it is safe to assume that Korean Manwhas are just beginning to tap in US.
In general, Manwhas have been written in Korean and published in Korea for Koreans. Meanwhile, there are other graphic novels written by Korean Americans. I also bumped into a graphic novel with Korean American characters. These were published in US for American readers in English. While good readers would not mind some cultural backgrounds of Manwhas, new readers might prefer books originally published for them in their language.
Graphic novels "by" and "about" Korean Americans are what I am intrigued and want to post in this blog. Manwhas are great! Being a new immigrant trying to root down here in new country, I feel they belong to my "past" that I left behind in my old country. Meanwhile books related to my Korean American life seem more current and relevent to me; those are stake now and here. That's why I believe that it is critical to differentiate those two kinds from Korean Manwhas as well as all the other graphic novels.
Being a Korean American and prospective librarian, I am looking forward to discovering graphic novels that have great stories and illustrations, and most of all fair representations of Korean Americans.
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Jae, this list is so cool! I love, love, love Fairies Landing -- it's both hilarious and gripping. (I forgot about that title, actually..thanks for reminding me of it!) Ooh! And PhD: Phantasy Degree! Woah!
ReplyDeleteHave you read Re-Gifters? It's by Mike Carey (with art by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel)? It's about a Korean-American girl, and it was one of my favorites when it came out 2 years ago. So much energy (the art just blew me away), and such a fun story.
I am really looking forward to the stuff you write about -- mostly really I'm an amateur when it comes to graphic novels, so I'll definitely be reading with interest.
Yes, the Re-Giters can be the definit first entry of Korean American grafic novel list, but I didn't know it has been around for two years. Thanks for your encouragement.
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