Samjoko Magazine releases spring issue

Todd Sullivan / Courtesy of Todd Sullivan

Samjoko Magazine has just released its 10th issue. The latest edition of the quarterly online literature magazine came out on April 10, in time for spring.

The spring issue features 11 contributions, including four works of fiction, two non-fiction pieces, one art submission and four poetry pieces. Contributors come from Korea, China, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, the Philippines and India.

The art is contributed by Ha Yoon, a Korean neurosurgeon and artist who draws inspiration from the structure of the human brain.

Samjoko was created by Todd Sullivan, an American who has lived in Korea for about 13 years. The concept of Samjoko Magazine has its origins in a Mok-dong academy where Sullivan taught writing several years ago.

"I wanted to create a small journal where the students would be able to have their best work bounded together in a slim chapbook," Sullivan told The Korea Times. "When I was thinking about what to name the collection, the idea of using something related to crows came to mind."

Sullivan has always had a fascination with crows, having grown up around them in New Orleans. While living in Korea, he heard of a mythical creature called the samjoko, which is a three-legged crow.

"It is a popular symbol in this part of the world," he said. "It represents the sun, or great power, both of which I thought was perfectly fitting as a title for the chapbook. There is great power in writing. It has the ability to illuminate the darkness of a reader’s mind, and it has the power to change one’s perspective."

Years later in 2021, when he was preparing to launch his own digital magazine, he thought back to that chapbook he created for his students years earlier. "I decided that once again samjoko perfectly represented what I wanted to produce: a bright light of change in the publishing landscape," he said.

Don't let the name misguide you though — Samjoko is not specific to Korea, or any one particular locale or even genre. It presents all genres, with sci-fi short stories appearing alongside personal essays, poetry alongside horror and comedic plays next to commentary about the editing side of publishing. Contributors come from all around the world, and all stages of career, from established writers to new talents just starting out.

"I wanted the magazine to be inclusive, as this is actually an uncommon thing in many publications," Sullivan said. "Samjoko’s mission is to introduce writers to a wider, worldwide audience. Even if a contributor published in Samjoko is discovered by only one new reader who enjoys what they have read, I think the venture has been successful."

Due to the international focus of Samjoko, Sullivan decided to make it a digital publication only.

Todd Sullivan poses during Liquid Arts Network's book fair at Gorilla Brewing Company’s taphouse near Gwangalli Beach in Busan, Dec. 15. Courtesy of Todd Sullivan

"I’ve had visits to the magazine from almost every country in the world. A print journal would never have that type of reach," he said. "Also, Samjoko Magazine is free to read, which would be financially infeasible with a physical edition. I do, however, have Patreon, and if one day there is enough support, Samjoko Magazine may offer a print version for a very low price."

Sullivan still cares about print publication, and the magazine's website even lists two "Bookstores We Support": Space Cowboy Books in California and B&B Trade Winds of Taiwan.

"They have also been supportive of me and the magazine over the years, and so I would like to support them in some small way," Sullivan said. "Independent bookstores have great difficulty in staying viable in any country, and I hope that in some small way, their name listed on Samjoko will bring some type of benefit to their business."

Jean-Paul L. Garnier, owner of Space Cowboy Books, is among the contributors to this latest issue of Samjoko Magazine. He shares an essay titled "The Importance of Print Media in the Digital Age," in which he argues several reasons why printed books are superior to their digital versions.

As well as publishing the magazine, Sullivan is also an author himself, with over 50 publishing credits spread across several countries. But Korea remains his home, and his muse, when it comes to his writing.

The covers of the three "Windshine Chronicles" books by Todd Sullivan / Courtesy of Todd Sullivan

The covers of Todd Sullivan's two vampire horror novels / Courtesy of Todd Sullivan

"The majority of my writing takes place in Korea and/or is a fusion of Korean and Western culture," he said. "I have stayed in Korea for 13 years because Korea has proven to be a fertile ground for me to generate narratives to write about."

He is the author of "The Windshine Chronicles," a fantasy series published by Mocha Memoirs Press, with the fourth book coming soon. Sullivan says he considers it a young adult series intended for young people who dream big.

"The Windshine Chronicles is essentially a narrative about trying to achieve something significant against the overwhelming odds of failure," he said. "Every time a student says they want to be a soccer player, or a K-pop idol, or an author, or any big dream with only a miniscule chance of success, that pursuit is embodied in The Windshine Chronicles. This is why I do consider it to be a YA series, though it does not technically meet the definition of that genre because there are PoVs in the narrative that are adults. But dreaming big, and truly believing your dreams are possible, is more the province of young minds than adults who have grown cynical and realistic about life and their prospects."

He has also released two novellas in a vampire horror series published by Nightmare Press, with a third one on the way. And he is also starting work on another project, a lycanthrope novel.

"The Windshine Chronicles, the vampire horror series and the lycanthrope novel all take place in Korea," he noted. "Beyond that, I have numerous short stories, essays and poems published. I have also had screenplays produced as a web-series, and plays performed on the stage in Taiwan."

Additionally, his poem titled "The Ballad of King Raven" and short story "One Hour" have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes.

Now that Samjoko's third spring issue is out, it won't be long before Sullivan opens for submissions for the next issue.

"We at Samjoko... will continue to strive to make sure human creativity and effort does not become obsolete," Sullivan writes in the introduction to the latest issue. "Perhaps it’s a losing battle, but we plan to go down fighting."

Visit samjokomagazine.com or follow his YouTube channel @ToddSullivanacrowsflying for more information.