S. Korean graphic novelists show solidarity with Hong Kong through online exhibition

Posted on : 2020-04-08 17:24 KST Modified on : 2020-04-08 17:24 KST
Artists show they haven’t forgotten about Hong Kongers’ fight for democracy
The “Hong Kong, Spring” online comic exhibition
The “Hong Kong, Spring” online comic exhibition

“Hong Kong citizens are still posting messages on social media asking ‘not to be forgotten.’ We wanted to answer that by telling them, ‘We’re watching,’ ‘We’re uniting,’ and ‘You’re not alone.’ We were conceiving of a form of solidarity that’s suited to the 21st century.”

South Korean graphic novelists are drawing attention with an online comic exhibition aimed at supporting Hong Kong residents who have been calling for democracy in large-scale demonstrations against repatriation to mainland China.

Titled “Hong Kong, Spring,” the online exhibition of short comics has been held by 17 South Korean graphic novelists since Apr. 3. The exhibition, which is to be open to the public through June 25, was organized by South Korean graphic novelists and comic critics as a way of sending a message of solidarity to Hong Kongers suffering amid long-term demonstrations and brutal suppression from a Beijing-led government. Seventeen short comics consisting of five to 10 panels each are being presented on the website (https://springhk.imweb.me/). Funds for the exhibition have been raised since Feb. 21 through the crowdfunding platform Tumblbug, with comics submitted by South Korean artists and illustrators working both domestically as well as in countries such as the US and France.

In addition to their vivid images showing Hong Kong residents wearing black clothing, helmets, and face or gas masks as they participate in demonstrations, the comics in the exhibition also include printed messages that the artists wished to convey to the people of Hong Kong. In a comic titled “To Our Esteemed Comrades,” one artist wrote, “Some of our friends will not be growing any older, but we who have survived will age. Let us not be elders who remember the things we are doing now as a mere moment of foolishness. Let us see to it that only the truth survives in our hearts.” Other artists included such messages in their cartoons as “Togetherness and an end to oppression and violence” and “We remember the Hong Kong of yesterday and the Hong Kong of last week. We remember Hong Kong.”

Comic critic Lee Jae-man, who proposed holding the online comic exhibition, “Hong Kong, Spring.” (provided by Lee]
Comic critic Lee Jae-man, who proposed holding the online comic exhibition, “Hong Kong, Spring.” (provided by Lee]

The idea for the exhibition was proposed by comic critic Lee Jae-min, 31.

“I see what happened in Gwangju in 1980 and what has happened in Hong Kong as essentially the same thing,” he said.

“And unlike me as someone who learned about Gwangju from studying history, my peers in Hong Kong are experiencing that for themselves right now,” he added. “I wanted to send them some form of message of solidarity and let them know that we know about Hong Kong’s situation.”

“We’re also translating the comics into English so that people in Hong Kong around the world can read them.”

Artist Seong In-su, who oversaw the exhibition’s planning, explained, “The citizens were isolated during the Gwangju Democratization Movement too. Just as a German journalist captured photographs that showed the situation in Gwangju, we want to use comics as a way of communicating the message, ‘We’re still with you. Don’t give up.’”

The 17 comics in the exhibition are also scheduled to be published in book form in mid-May.

By Kim Min-je, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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