Outside the fortress
This Hangyoreh manp’yŏng [satirical cartoon] was linked by the Marmot and is just so good I had to reproduce it here:
In the distance a crowd of Koreans run adoringly toward the Korean-African-American [American] Football superstar and new Korean national hero, Hines Ward. Meanwhile, in the foreground a group of mixed race kids stand outside an impregnable fortress with a signboard reading ‘Single Nation/Race’ [a centrepiece of South Korea’s postwar nationalist ideology has been the idea that the Koreans are a single homogenous ‘race’ of people, probably descended from the ancient progenitor, Tan’gun]. The title in the top right reads, ‘A short trip outside the fortress’.
All in all, a wonderfully clever and apposite bit of satire - sometimes I think it’s a shame that Korean satire does not seem to extend beyond the political cartoon to other media.
dude do you ever watch korean movies?
Comment by young — April 7, 2006 @ 2:29 pm
Not enough really. I have a copy of Silmido at home that I haven’t even watched yet. Last thing I really liked was ‘Memories of a Murder’ (살인의 추억) which I suppose you could say had some very dark satirical elements in it.
Comment by kotaji — April 7, 2006 @ 3:51 pm
Here’s a story in the herald on the topic, FYI
Comment by Jamie — April 8, 2006 @ 8:32 pm
You’re right — it’s a great, clever cartoon. I do think the hypocrisy has generated some productive discussions about racism in S. Korea, so hopefully some good will come of it.
Comment by Judy — April 11, 2006 @ 6:22 pm
Well, instead of tanil minjok, the cartoonist may have as well written han’gyôre on the gate signboard… This is the irony and the contradiction that I haven’t seen the newspaper in question to face yet.
Comment by Antti — April 12, 2006 @ 4:14 am
Antti - 허허… must admit that hadn’t occurred to me either. If Hangyoreh has the most nationalist title of the Korean dailies then perhaps Segye Ilbo has the most internationalist (?!)
Comment by kotaji — April 12, 2006 @ 11:13 am
Back to the same newspaper and same artist - an racial stereotypes: the bigger the evil, the bigger the nose.
Comment by Antti — April 12, 2006 @ 12:58 pm