Honford Star announces some of their 2025 titles, which include three books from Lovecraft Reanimated — a series of Lovecraftian horror by leading Korean writers (including Honford Star’s first graphic novel, The Call of the Friend). The titles are Alien Gods (Lovecraft Reanimated) by Lee Soo-Hyun (trans. Anton Hur) The Call of the Friend (Lovecraft … [Read More]
Booklist: Graphic novels and webtoons
Includes both fiction and non-fiction graphic publications, webtoons and children’s illustrated titles, as well as academic publications about graphic novels and ‘toons.
Dog Days
The author of Grass and The Naked Tree returns with a profound tale of family Yuna never wanted to adopt a dog. But with her partner in mourning–and in desperate need of a boost in morale–she gives in to his humble request. And in the grand tradition of reluctant pet owners, she and their puppy soon become inseparable. The … [Read More]
No Rules Tonight
From the creators of Banned Book Club comes a young adult graphic novel about unveiling secrets, confessing your crushes, and finding yourself: all in the mountains of South Korea on Christmas Eve. It’s time for the annual winter camp at Anjeon University. A full weekend, deep in the mountains, with no parental supervision. But this is no … [Read More]
The Naked Tree
A delicate, timeless, and breathtaking coming-of-age classic, reimagined Critically acclaimed and award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim returns with a stunning addition to her body of graphic fiction rooted in Korean history. Adapted from Park Wan-suh’s beloved novel, The Naked Tree paints a stark portrait of a single nation’s fabric slowly torn to shreds by political upheaval and armed … [Read More]
Understanding Korean Webtoon Culture: Transmedia Storytelling, Digital Platforms, and Genres
Webtoons are the latest manifestation of the Korean Wave of popular culture that has increasingly caught on across the globe in recent years, especially among youth. Webtoons are a form of comic that are typically published digitally in chapter form. Originally distributed via the Internet, they are now increasingly distributed through smartphones to ravenous readers … [Read More]
100°C: South Korea’s 1987 Democracy Movement
What does it take for ordinary citizens to risk everything to protest living under a repressive government? What takes them beyond the brink, to the “boiling point”? In his graphic novel 100°C, celebrated webtoon and comics artist Choi Kyu-sok sheds a light on these questions by examining the lives of one family caught up in the great … [Read More]
My GrandMom
From an award-winning Korean author comes a charming and joyful story of the bond between a little girl and her grandma. Gee-eun is a little girl whose parents work a lot. So she spends her days with her beloved grandmother. Grandma comforts Gee-eun when she’s sad to see her parents leaving and shares in all … [Read More]
I am the Subway
A cinematic journey through the Seoul subway that masterfully portrays the many unique lives we travel alongside whenever we take the train. A poetic translation of the bestselling Korean picture book. Accompanied by the constant, rumbling ba-dum ba-dum of its passage through the city, the subway has stories to tell. Between sunrise and sunset, it welcomes and … [Read More]
One Day
A gentle, delicately illustrated story about loss that has a cosmic dimension. A boy’s grandfather goes away suddenly, never to return. How could he leave so suddenly? His smell remains in his sweater, and his shoes are there to be worn. Plus, his friends at the fountain just saw him! The boy lingers in the … [Read More]
The Hellbound
One day, you will receive a message from an unknown sender. The message will only include your name, the fact that you are going to hell, and the time you have left to live. When the time counts down to zero, supernatural beings manifest to condemn you to hell. Amid social chaos and increasing hysteria, … [Read More]
The Three Water Drop Brothers
Graphically gorgeous, with sweetness and flair, this is a book to get any kid hooked on the wonders of the water cycle! A long, long time ago, when the earth was extremely hot, a huge amount of vapor was released, creating clouds. As the clouds got bigger and heavier, it started to rain. Three of … [Read More]
It’s OK, Slow Lizard
In a lush, sun-dappled forest, animal friends discover the advantages of living slowly, in this soothing picture book from beloved South Korean author and illustrator Yeorim Yoon and Jian Kim. Little Bird is all aflutter―too many things to do. Elephant cries with frustration when a shoelace breaks. Rabbit tries so hard and loses the race … [Read More]
The Waiting
From the publisher’s website: The story begins with a mother’s confession…sisters permanently separated by a border during the Korean War Keum Suk Gendry-Kim was an adult when her mother revealed a family secret: She had been separated from her sister during the Korean War. It’s not an uncommon story–the peninsula was split across the 38th … [Read More]
Magic Candies
A quirky story about finding your voice, from internationally acclaimed author Heena Baek. Tong Tong could never have imagined what everyone around him was thinking. But when he gets hold of some magic candies, suddenly there are voices everywhere. He can hear how his couch feels, what upsets his dog, that his demanding dad loves … [Read More]
Moon Pops
A witty, weird, and wonderful spin on a classic Korean folktale One sweltering summer night, while the many residents of one apartment building are struggling to fall asleep, the moon begins to melt. Granny hears it dripping and runs out to catch the moon drops in a bucket. At first unsure what to do with … [Read More]
South Korea’s Webtooniverse and the Digital Comic Revolution
From the publisher’s website: This book investigates the meteoric rise of mobile webtoons – also known as webcomics – and the dynamic relationships between serialised content, artists, agencies, platforms and applications, as well as the global readership associated with them. It offers an engaging discussion of webtoons themselves, and what makes this new media form … [Read More]