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North Korea

Graphic Novels at WWB: The First Ten Years
By Susan Harris
The narrative threads that weave through the last ten years tell a tale in themselves.
The Sea Girl & the Prince
By Chae Kyeong-weon & Bae In-yeong
What! Who could this strange man be?
Translated by Bella Dalton-Fenkl
Introduction
By Shirley Lee
The mere use of everyday language is a subversive act in the North Korean literary context.
I Want to Call Her Mother Again
By Park Gui-ok
After that day, I had no mother.
Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell
Multilingual
The Poet Who Asked for Forgiveness
By Gwak Moon-an
He came to accept that art had no value unless it was used as a tool of propaganda.
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
Pillow
By Jang Jin-sung
Nothing to offer but themselves / In Pyongyang’s marketplace
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
The Arduous March
By Ji Hyun-ah
With rations cut off, people began to starve.
Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell
Multilingual
A Rice Story
By Kim Sung-min
Food bartered for your sister’s chastity.
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
A close-up image of crystal meth.
Radspunk, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
A Blackened Land
By Kim Yeon-Seul
The earth is dark, the sky is dark, and the people’s hearts are dark.
Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell
Multilingual
After the Gunshot
By Lee Ji Myung
You can’t drink when you have the money on you.
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
April 2011 Graphic Serial From North Korea The Secret Of Frequency A An Incredible Disaster Part Three Eom Jeong Hui And Ko Im Hong Page Thumbnail
The Secret of Frequency A: An Incredible Disaster, Part Three
By Eom Jeong-Hui & Ko Im-Hong
Kang Yeong - Nam: Professor ! The signal from comrade Cheol - Ryeong's transmitter is coming from the direction of the basement here .
Translated from Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl
March 2011 Graphic Serial From North Korea The Secret Of Frequency A An Incredible Disaster Part Two Eom Jeong Hui And Ko Im Hong Page Thumbnail
The Secret of Frequency A: An Incredible Disaster, Part Two
By Eom Jeong-Hui & Ko Im-Hong
The Elite Youth Science Squad from North Korea is back for part two of their adventure..
Translated from Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl
February 2011 International Graphic Novels Volume V The Secret Of Frequency A An Incredible Disaster Eom Jeong Hui And Ko Im Hong Page Thumbnail
The Secret of Frequency A: An Incredible Disaster
By Eom Jeong-Hui & Ko Im-Hong
Dr. Heo Seung - Min: To protect the nature preserve and succeed in our vital research , we must unearth the secret of Frequency A , which is the source of these mysterious incidents !
Translated from Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl & Jungbin Yoon
October 2009 Foreign Correspondents International Reporting Blizzard In The Jungle Part Two Ri Chol Geun And Jo Hak Rae Page Thumbnail
Blizzard in the Jungle, Part Two
By Ri Chol-Geun & Jo Hak-Rae
Translated from Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl & Geesu Lee
February 2009 The Graphic World Part Iii Worth Ten Thousand Words Blizzard In The Jungle Ri Chol Geun And Jo Hak Rae Page Thumbnail
Blizzard in the Jungle
By Ri Chol-Geun & Jo Hak-Rae
Since the ideology and values conveyed in children’s books tend to be relatively transparent in all cultures, I hope this excerpt from Blizzard in the Jungle gives a useful glimpse into the self-representation…
Translated from Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl & Geesu Lee
February 2008 Worth Ten Thousand Words A World Of Graphics Part Ii From Great General Mighty Wing Cho Pyŏng Kwŏn Page Thumbnail
From “Great General Mighty Wing”
By Cho Pyŏng Kwŏn & Lim Wal-Yong
Translator’s Introduction1. Reflections on the ManhwabangI grew up in South Korea in the 1960s during the Park Chung-hee years, back in the day when comic books, or manhwa, were classified as one…
Translated from Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl
From “He’s Alive”
By Kim Hong-ik
Slowly, she opened her eyes. They were met with another pair, filled with tears.
Translated from Korean by Ha-yun Jung
From “Hopes for Good Fortune”
By Han Ung-bin
I said let my hand go. People will see!
Translated from Korean by Ha-yun Jung
From “Friends on the Road”
By Kim Byung-hun
I looked into her big eyes, cloudy and lifeless with concern, and my heart grew so hot that I could not find the right thing to say.
Translated from Korean by Ha-yun Jung
Second Encounter
By Han Ung-bin
His brow immediately grew red, his rage unmistakeable.
Translated from Korean by Stephen Epstein
How the Other Half Lives
By Ha-yun Jung
And we are now as different as could be, unrecognizable like siblings separated at birth.
Encountering North Korean Fiction: The Origins of the Future
By Stephen Epstein
Perhaps the most salient feature of North Korean literature in contrast to its southern counterpart is its eternal optimism.