Manga Jouhou translates an interview from Mainichi Communications with manhwa artists at the Modern Korean Manhwa Exhibition (April 21st - June 3rd), held at the Kawazaki City Museum in Kawazaki City.

From Business Week comes an article titled "Forget Manga. Here's Manwha," which takes an in-depth look at Korean manhwa, and if it will be as successful in the U.S. as Japanese manga.

From Asahi.com comes an article titled "S. Koreans get taste for wine from manga," which looks at how a manga titled Kami no Shizuku (Drops of God) has caused wine to see a surge in popularity in South Korea.

According to animeOnline, a Korean Manhwa exhibition will take place from April 21st at the Kawasaki City Museum:

The exhibit will continue through June 3rd and will feature manhwa artists such as Kim Dongwha (creator of A Story of Kisaeng and Bug Boy) and So-Hee Park (creator of Goong).

In a time of chaos and war in a godforsaken era, twin sons are born to an emperor. But legend states that the son of the emperor shall be born a demon. But twins? Who is the demon, and who shall reign as emperor?

Chunchu is the story of a young man saved from death by his mother, banished by his people, hunted by his brother, and tortured by demons from within. Living and fighting with a warrior tribe that can never trust him, Chunchu lives a life of blood and violence. Still, something mysterious lurks within his cold exterior, something that could be awakened by the touch of a woman.

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Bang Gyeong-su, writter of the story for the Korean comic Bbongjjak, has filed a lawsuit against Lee Hyon-se, chairman of the Korean Cartoonists Association. Lee Hyon-se claims that he was the writor for the story of Bbongjjak, but Lee took all the credits for making the comic and went on to make profits off of the work. According to the report, Bang is supported by an association of other comics story writers.

Source: The Hankyoreh

Rhie Won-bok of Duksung Women's University was recently accused of anti-Semitism by an activist group called the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Rhie's comic Far Country, Neighbor Country was criticized for "depicting Jewish influence in the U.S. media." According to report, Rhie apologized and expressed that "he was neither anti-Semitic nor out to criticize Jews: 'I drew the cartoons based on data I gathered while living in the U.S. for two years.'"

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

According to ANS, manga centered around alcohol, including wine, cocktails, mixed drinks and bartending practices, are seeing an increase in popularity in the South Korean market:

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Korean Comics: A Society Through Small Frames, an exhibition sponsored by the Korean Society, will take place at the Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library from January 16 to March 16. The event will feature "83 framed works by 21 of Korea's most talented cartoonists, drawn over a period of 40 years. It includes work by artists from both South Korea and North Korea."

Dong-A Ilbo has published an article on the manhwa industry in South Korea. Contrary to the success of manwha overseas, the domestic manhwa market in South Korea is not doing so well. Over 80% of the Korean market is composed of imported comics, mostly from Japan. Even worse, the size of the Korean market is decreasing.

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