Teaching Contemporary Korean History with Comics : The Emergence of ‘Reportage Comics’ in a Time of Discontent

Abstract

This article examines two incidents—the failed redevelopment project in Yongsan that led to a violent standoff by evictees and the fatalities of 118 workers at the Samsung plants--through the genre of reportage comics, a new medium for expressing political and social dissent in South Korea. The reportage comic is a genre that is still unfamiliar in Korea, but Korean comic artists have been experimenting with a new form of storytelling, integrating “newsworthy” events into a narrative that is both journalistic with its documentary evidence and principles of objectivity and entertaining with its fictional features and intimacy with its characters. In addition to this “visual witnessing,” this study examines the pedagogic impulse to inform others about the systemic violence and injustice against citizens, collusion between the government and the mighty corporations, and a feeling of hopelessness and despair among many South Koreans who now refer to their country as “Hell Joseon,” the experience of cyclical deprivation among commoners in a feudal-hereditary society. The article selects a group of works such as "Naega saldeon Yongsan," "Meonji eomneun bang," and "Saram naemsae," which deals with the Yongsan tragedy and the death of Samsung semiconductor factory workers, focusing on the techniques and narrative structure of Korean comics, especially visual arrangement and storytelling. This analysis was conducted through a webtoon class for undergraduates and it identifies topics contained in the text by 1) exploring the content of cartoons, such as individual experiences, memories, and voices, which are systematically excluded from traditional news reports, and 2) analyzing the status of reception of content in cartoons through the responses of 66 respondents. In conclusion, this study finds the medium of reportage comics certainly plays an essential role in informing the public about some tragic events. Not only does reportage comics provide readers with a unique space to approach tragic but politically and socially sensitive events, but it also suggests the feasibility of resolving the trauma of victims. Reportage comics allow readers to put themselves in the shoes of the characters, and experience the trauma from panel to panel, internalizing the emotions and drama of the moment.