“The Korean people hold deep friendship and gratitude toward the nations that helped Korea in the past,” says Kun-woong.

This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Korean War: a war that broke out after the liberation of Japanese colonial rule, and has never formally ended.

The Vancouver Korean Book Festival

The festival was created as a result of the popularity of broader Korean media, such as Korean films and music. The central theme, the Korean concept of Jari (one’s place/seat), is not only a location but a point of existence where identity aligns with history.

“The Korean War has been a great burden for the Korean people,” says Kun-Woong. “Unless we (Koreans) build up on our own, there may be another great crisis so this is a reason for Korea to rise up economically, culturally, and militarily.”

This year’s festival – showcasing a graphic novel exhibition, film screenings, live drawings, sessions, readings and author talks – features three authors:

Kun-woong, Kim Hong-mo, and Park Ju hyun. Kun-woong will be at an author talk to discuss his recent graphic novel Gapyeong 1951, which commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong.

“While diverse aspects of K-culture, such as K-food and K-pop, have enjoyed widespread popularity in Vancouver,” says Consul General Kwangsuk Lee, “this festival was organized to introduce the power of our language, writing, and stories.”

Gapyeong 1951 and the Korean War

Vancouver is home to a sizable Korean diaspora – and an audience that is interested in Korean culture.

Kun-woong, a South Korean graphic novel artist with 20 years of experience, works primarily to uncover hidden stories from modern Korean history.

“I wanted to tell a human story situated in [Gapyeong 1951],” says Kun-woong. “Sometimes it reveals the ugly nature of humanity, yet simultaneously shows our struggle not to lose our nobility.”

Gapyeong 1951 – based on Beyond the Danger Close: The Korean Experience Revealed: 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, by the late Hub Gray, a Canadian Korean War veteran – is the graphic novel that not only highlights the accomplishment of Canadians, but a monumental battle that turned the tide of war.

“The project began when the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver first suggested a work showcasing the shared history between Korea and Canada,” says Kun-woong.

As Kun-woong worked on adapting the memoir, he found that the writing “vividly portrayed the unvarnished landscape of war” by depicting “the reality of war calmly and truthfully from a combat veteran’s perspective”

“Korea’s graphic novels remain a niche, small market compared to webtoons (a popular type of comic that is primarily read online),” says Kun-woong. “Gapyeong 1951 is my attempt to bring hidden stories in Korean history to light.”

Kun-woong’s other works – The Story of Jessie, 2016 (an adaptation of a journal by war activists) and The Story of Nogeun-ri, 2014 (also describes events that took place during the Korean War) – focus on the reality of war and struggle surrounding ideology.

“Even today, wars are raging across the globe,” says Kun-woong. “I believe this is the result of forgetting, and failing to learn from the mistakes of the past.”

The link to register is below.

https://vpl.bibliocommons.com/events/6a9603d229a7dd0d67481923