Korean pop culture has been fashionable in China for several years now, and enthusiasts will be delighted with this work by one of the country’s leading cartoonists. Seyeong O's Buja’s Diary offers, in manwa form (Korean comics), an insightful, incisive commentary on Korean life in the 80s and 90s with thirteen stories in black-and-white panels. The author tackles a number of subjects in societal, familial and behavioral patterns – in a mature and thoughtful manner. “The Leather Pouch”, for instance, examines the national wound caused by the North and South division; “The Real Estate Agency”, the lack of filial devotion in the younger generation; while “Buja’s Pictures Diary” looks at the precarious situation of a single mother through the eyes of her daughter. Other entries, however, are less easy for non-Koreans to comprehend. After all, though Korean culture is more widespread than, say, a decade ago, is it hardly as universal as American. Fortunately, an epilogue written by Seoul International Comics Festival organizer Han Chang-wan provides astute comments (and context) on the Seyeong O’s work.
NBM Publishing/available at www.nbmpublishing.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue