Cartoonist's durable popularity revisited

The late cartoonist Park Bong-seong / Korea Times file

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Park Bong-seong (1949-2005) was one of the highest in-demand cartoonists during a cartoon boom in the 1980s, and one of the few to see his popularity survive the daunting days of the 1990s and afterwards.

As his nickname, “a hitter with a batting average of 1.00,” suggests, all comics Park released after his hit cartoon “Young Business Mogul” went popular.

In terms of influence in the cartoon industry, Park was neck and neck with two other star cartoonists ― Lee Hyun-se and Huh Young-man. Lee became a household name for the phenomenal success of his 1982 comic book “A Dauntless Team,” and Huh saw his career leap forward in 1986 with the success of “Chameleon's Poem.”

Jeong Jae-hyeon, a visiting scholar of mass media at Temple University in Philadelphia and author of “Park Bong-seong” published by Communications Books, defines Park as a cartoon entrepreneur, saying the late cartoonist was quick to respond to the ever-changing business environment.

“He viewed comics as a business,” the author says in the book. “Together with Lee Hyun-se and Huh Young-man, Park led the cartoon industry in the 1980s and 90s, and had a significant impact on popular culture.”

Park established Bong-seong Production, a sort of comic book publisher, in the 1980s. Facing surging demand for cartoons, star cartoonists like Park hired dozens of staffers, most of them trainees seeking to hone their skills under the guidance of star cartoonists, at their production houses.

During its peak, as many as 160 trainees were believed to have worked under the supervision of Park.

His team was productive. Between 1981 and 1991, Bong-seong Production released 1,500 volumes of comic books under 100 titles.

Jeong called the trainee system “a cartoon manufacturer” as the system enabled mass production of popular comic books. “Under this system, star cartoonists hired aspiring comic artists to let them produce comic books with their employers' names on them as authors,” he said.

It is no surprise that the trainee system faced a backlash.

Mass production led to worsening quality. Trainees, meanwhile, were stuck in the vicious circle of underemployment and uncertainty. They were the artists who produced the pieces but their work was published with another person's name on it. The system also did a disservice to star cartoonists. Some of them didn't even know what their comic works were about, because they were not the real authors, and too many comics were released every month.

Facing the backlash, some cartoonists scaled back production.

The cartoon boom was gone in the 1990s. Internet games and webtoons emerged as popular pastimes as the digital era was evolving. Park swiftly adapted to this environment. He opened Bong-seong.com in the 2000s to cope with the technology-driven revolution.

The author says Park's business acumen and swift reaction to technology transition helped him remain as a popular cartoonist until his death.

Despite their popularity and impact on society, Jeong said cartoonists have not been treated accordingly. There certainly exists a culture of ignorance about cartoonists and their work, he said. Cartoons consist of stories and drawings and thus they are still a form of art. But they have long been regarded as low culture, inferior to literature and art. Such biased views of cartoons had impacted them to be vulnerable to censorship.

“Park Bong-seong” by Jeong Jae-hyeon

“Park Bong-seong” is one of Communications Books' review sequels on comic and webtoon artists.

The author traces the late comic artist's life and his contribution to comic art history, and decodes the secret behind his durable popularity. Jeong says Park's cartoons have the answer. Rock-solid stories, heroes who save the weak and cared for the underprivileged, all these elements captivated his readers, according to the author.

Born in the southern port city of Busan in 1949, Park began to explore comics when he was 15. He chose to become a full-time cartoonist at age 16 and left home for Seoul to become a trainee under the guidance of then renowned cartoonist Oh Myung-cheon.

After years of hard work as an aspiring cartoonist, he debuted in 1974 with “Wandering Boxer.” But his first work failed to draw attention.

It took another decade for him to release a hit comic book. In 1983, he released “Young Business Mogul” which centers on a self-made man who rises from humble beginnings after overcoming a host of adversities to become successful.

Its success had a huge impact on the cartoon industry. After that mega hit, Park published multiple hit works, including “Son of God” which was later adapted into a film starring actor Choi Min-soo.

He died of heart attack in 2005 after collapsing while climbing up Mount Dobong in Seoul. He was 56.