A newly published comic book depicting the bizarre life of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-il has proved a runaway success with Japanese devotees of manga cartoons.
Tens of thousands of copies have been snapped up by Japanese eager to learn more about the reclusive dictator following North Korea's drive to develop nuclear weapons and Pyongyang's confession to kidnapping Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s.
"We have already sold around 250,000 copies since the book went on sale on Aug. 4," Yoshiaki Takahashi, a spokesman for the Asukashina manga publishing house.
"At first it was mostly 30-to-40-year-olds who bought the manga but now we're seeing college students and high-school pupils are reading it too," he said.
Manga, literally "random sketches," is the term for the genre of narrative comic strips, often series, read by millions of Japanese. Thousands of new titles on themes ranging from samurai, golf, yakuza gangsters, fantasy superheroes, sex to social satire are published each year.
Titled "Introduction to Kim Jong-il: the truth about the honorable North Korean shogun," the book is the Japanese version of a manga first published five years ago in South Korea by Lee U-jong, a Japanese-born Korean, who now teaches manga animation in South Korea.
The book was pulled from the shelves in South Korea shortly after the election of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung because it ran counter to his sunshine policy of engagement with North Korea, according to the translator of the Japanese edition, Lee Young-hwa.
It has yet to reappear there.
And with good reason. The North Korean dictator is portrayed in its 340-odd pages as a violent, bloodthirsty despot who commits numerous murders and has a weakness for women and the high-life.
But the cartoon book also relates Kim's little-known childhood and relationship with his father, Kim Il-sung, the founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its ruler until 1994.
Intended to be educational, the book is as easy to read as any other manga, while also striving to serve as a work of reference, incorporating actual press cuttings and photographs.
The manga should enable Japanese to "define more clearly Kim Jong-il's personality so that Japan can work out the policy it should adopt" for dealing with North Korea, said Lee Young-hwa.
The book has appeared at a time when relations between the two countries have deteriorated into acrimony over the kidnapping of Japanese nationals during the Cold War years and fears over North Korea's nuclear weapons.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS