Korean nominated for best comic book award in Angouleme

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 18:12

Exhibitions

Korean nominated for best comic book award in Angouleme

Posted : 2017-01-26 15:44

Updated : 2017-01-26 17:47

Scenes from Ancco's "Bad Friend" / Courtesy of Korea Manhwa Contents Agency

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korean cartoonist Ancco's comic "Bad Friend" has been nominated for the Best Comic Book award at the 44th Angouleme International Comics Festival, which takes place in the southwestern French town of Angouleme from Thursday to Sunday (local time).

After learning "Bad Friend" was nominated for the award, she flew to the French town last week to take part in the festival.

The 33-year-old cartoonist, whose real name is Choi Kyung-jin, made her cartoonist debut in 2003 through the online comic "Ancco's Picture Diary."

She began publishing "Bad Friend" in 2012 in Korea, receiving critical acclaim for the autobiographical work brilliantly depicting the turbulence of life as a teenage girl. The comic book was published in France last year with the French title of "Mauvaises Filles" and was also introduced at the Paris Book Fair in the same year.

The black-and-white comic book series takes some episodes from Ancco's own life.

"Bad Friend is a comic book about Jin-joo, a woman who recollects her teenage years," the author told The Korea Times. "During puberty, she runs away from home to escape her abusive father. While away from home, she spends days going astray with her friend Jung-ae who comes from a dysfunctional family."

After spending a few days away from her daily life, Jin-joo returns to her family, but she can't find Jung-ae as no one knows where she is. Years later, Jin-joo encounters her, but she just ignores her friend, who looks shabby, and walks on.

"Looking back at my teenage life, I would like to ask myself who the real bad friend was," the author said, "because it could be remembered as a pleasant moment for someone, but for other people, it could be a brutal reality from which they cannot escape."

The festival organizers said Choi "paints an uncompromising picture of Korean society torn between tradition and modernity, haunted by the ghosts of history and shaken by Western materialistic civilization." They also said of her work: "She appears as the spokesperson of Korean youth's malaise through a cartoon centered on the daily lives of teenagers. Freeing the long-repressed language of Korean youth, it has become a reference for a whole generation."

The award ceremony will be held on Saturday evening. If she receives the prestigious award, she will become the second Asia-born cartoonist to win the honor, following the late Japanese cartoonist Shigeru Mizuki, who won the award in 2007 with "NonNonBa."

First launched in 1974, the French comics festival is recognized as one of the world's most influential cartoon conventions along with Italy's Lucca Comics & Games and Comiket of Japan. It also gives out several prestigious prizes in cartooning.

Angouleme as gateway for Korean comics

The four-day event has emerged as a gateway for Korean comics to reach European readers.

At the 41st event, Korean cartoonists made international headlines for featuring 20 comic strips and video works shedding light on Korean women forced into sexual slavery during World War II.

The special exhibition attracted nearly 17,000 visitors and helped raise international awareness of the tragic stories of the wartime comfort women.

The explosive response triggered a dispute between the Korean participants and conservative Japanese people, who put pressure on the organizing committee to remove the special exhibition. But their attempt was blocked by the festival authorities.

Commemorating last year's 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Korea, 18 online comics, called "webtoons" here, were introduced at the festival last year.

Under the title of "Webtoon Playground," the exhibition featured works of top cartoonists including Yoon Tae-ho's "Misaeng," Park Yong-je's "The God of High School," Ha Il-kwon's "Go Go Go," Cho Seok's "The Sound of Your Heart" and Kang Full's "Moving."

At this year's festival, the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (KOMACON) runs a booth promoting Korean comics. About 80 comics which have already been published in France will be displayed during the festival. The agency also runs a booth to promote the export of Korean comic works.

Poster for the 44th Angouleme International Comics Festival

baekby@ktimes.com