Talk lifts lid on North Korean comic books

A lecture hosted by the Royal Asiatic Society on Tuesday Sept. 6 promises to put paid to the idea that North Korean literature is dull.

Jacco Zwetsloot will introduce the world of North Korean comic books, along with some of his favorite extracts.

Published since the early 1980s, Zwetsloot says the cartoons tend to focus on three things: cautionary tales, how to spot spies, and heroic tales from Korean history.

The lecture will take place at the Residents’ Lounge of Somerset Palace, Seoul, near Anguk Station, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for RAS members, 5,000 won for non-members.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)