Korea Cartoon Seris 4 : 1998

1998-May-04

Lee Hee-jae is a Korean comic artist, who created short stories for Manwhagwangjang magazine in the 1980s. In these stories, he showed a talent in commenting on everyday life. His most famous creation is 'Ganpanstar', a little girl who leaves her native town to live in Séoul. His comic 'Victory or Defeat' described the dreams of an unemployed person, 'The Way of the Paddle' was about a couple who had lost their three children. Lee learned the finer points of the profession from Kim Jong-rae in 1970 and spent the next ten years to shape his style. He made his professional debut in 1981 with 'A Famous Person' and 'Oekse', but he became famous with The Malicious Child (Bad Boys) (1983). Bad Boys was serialized in the cartoon magazines Treasure Island and Boy Central

Park Ki-jeong's literature studies influenced him in his comics storytelling. He started his career in the Jungang Ilbo daily with the 'Gongsujae' strip in 1956. He also produced numerous comics based on actualities and dramatic stories in several newspapers. Park Ki-jeong's dramatic stories, such as 'Dojeonja', reflect the transition between the dark past of the country and a future full with hope. Especially in the 1960s, Park Ki-jeong stood out for his narrative qualities.

His breakthrough came in the 1960s when he gained a huge following with a series of sports comics such as “Challenger” and “Wrestler.” Challenger  deals with a young boxer Huni. After losing his parents, Huni leaves for Japan and learns boxing while working at a restaurant. He decides to become a boxer there as he thinks it is the only way to escape discrimination. Challenger was released in 45 volumes from August 1964 to November 1965. The series was reissued in five volumes 40 years later in 2006. Park Ki-jeong found success both as a graphic artist and a political cartoonist.