The Korean Manhwa Festival (March 28-April 24), presented by the East Asia Library of the University of Washington (UW), unveiled its highlight event–the Manhwabang exhibition–on March 31, at the UW Allen Library. The KF-sponsored exhibition was designed to resemble 1980s Manhwabang (comic book rental store) in Korea. Yoon Tae-ho, the author of the hit webtoon-cum-television series Misaeng, graced the walls of the installation with his illustrations, and signed autographs for his fans at the opening ceremony. There was also a special screening of the first episode of Misaeng with English subtitles.
The UW East Asia Library houses a vast collection of over 15,000 copies of graphic novels produced by several Korean legends who ushered in a golden era of manhwa during the 1980s, such as Lee Hyun-se, Huh Young-man, Park Bong-seong, Go Haeng-seok, and Hwang Mina.

The collection was donated to UW by the owners of an antique shop in Washington. The donation inspired Yi Hyo-kyoung, the Korean Studies librarian, to plan a series of events under the title K-Manhwa: Graphic Narratives from Paper to Screen.
The exhibition is a two-month joint project with UW Architecture students to re a nostalgic, old-school manhwabang. Print versions of Korean webtoons (also known as webcomics) were also on display at the UW Odegaard Undergraduate Library, introducing the diverse world of Korean graphic novels to library visitors.

• Digital Programs & Media Department
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