Dokdo Island Dispute and "Hyomillyu"

Hello Class. I was looking stuff about the Dokdo Island disputes between Korean and Japan and I came across this article that talks about this new genre of literature called "Hyomillyu" (hatred toward Japanese pop culture). The background info is that the Dokdo is a group of islands in the East Sea that has been occupied by South Korean since 1954. However, the Japanese government has been contesting the Korean sovereignty over them which has caused much political activism in both countries. One form of political activism can be seen in these comic books that bash each other's popular culture. I searched on-line for links to the actual Hyomillyu manga but could not find any. Hope you enjoy. And yes, Dokdo is Korean territory. hehehe.

Comic Book Against Japanese Hatred Published
By Bae Ji-sookStaff Reporter
The Korea Times
09-22-2006

A Korean comic artist has published a comic book rebutting a Japanese comic that took issue with Korean pop culture. Kim Sang-mo, a renowned comic artist in Korea, recently released “Hyomillyu” (hatred toward Japanese pop culture), a book he said he designed to counter the Japanese comic, “Hyomhallyu” (hatred toward Korean pop culture).” Kim said he intends to publish the book in Japan and with several companies showing interest, there are only a few loose ends to tie up before the final deal. “They think it will cause a big splash in Japan, too. They are willing to buy any future hot issues,” the artist replied when asked about why Japanese companies want to buy the book. The book is due to come out in Japan next month. The comic depicts a Korean man, Kim Han-soo, who is about to graduate from university, standing up again st Japanese people’s ridicule through pictures. To rebuff Japanese classmates claims that the Pacific War was to protect Asian people from a western invasion, Kim Han-soo shows them pictures of Japanese soldiers killing ordinary citizens. Later on, he gets a job and proves to a Japanese client who looks down on him that Dokdo is Korean territory by showing him ancient maps and historical books. He also criticizes Japanese people’s jealousy of hallyu. “It took me a year to gather information for the book,” said Kim, who is famed for his active and vibrant touch. Kim Sang-mo thinks the comic shows the anger Koreans feel through pictures when Kim Han-soo tells his client about the Yasukuni shrine and Japanese nationalism. When the artist first heard about Hyomillyu comics, he thought he had to do something about it. He visited the Yasukuni shrine and Yushukan museum for research and looked over 50 reports and books in coming up with his idea. “I was waiting for someone to talk about it, but there was no one. So I decided to do it myself. I know that some people think it’s stupid to deal with all those things, but I thought I could do something that would have a huge effect,” he said. He hopes the book can change some Japanese people’s way of thinking. “Individually, the Japanese are nice people, but the country’s public policy and education is keeping them away from the truth.” Kim Sung-mo is one of the most read comic artists in Korea. According to the Korea Manwha Information Archives, he has published 698 volumes of comics for adults and teenagers from 2001 to 2005.