On the road, while breastfeeding and changing her daughter, Gwija was separated from her husband and son. Japan fell, Korea gained its independence, and the couple started a family. When Gwija was seventeen years old, after hearing that the Japanese were seizing unmarried girls, her family married her in a hurry to a man she didn't know. The Waiting is the fictional story of Gwija, told by her novelist daughter, Jina. Her mother s story inspired Gendry-Kim to begin interviewing her and other Koreans separated by the war that research fueled a deeply resonant graphic novel. As many fled violence in the north, not everyone was able to make it south. It s not an uncommon story the peninsula was split across the 38th parallel, dividing one country into two. 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. Work in Progress is a new D+Q series to offer a sneak peek into upcoming, not-yet-announced, or previously not scheduled books.Language: English. Grass (Drawn & Quarterly, 2019) appeared on Best of the Year lists from the New York Times and the Guardian, and received the Cartoonist Studio Prize for the Best Print Comic of the Year, the Big Other Book Award for Best Graphic Novel in 2019, the Harvey Award for Best International Book, and the Krause Essay Prize in 2020. She has cartooned the graphic novels Grass, The Waiting, La saison des pluies, Jiseul, Jun, The Naked Tree, and more. Keum Suk Gendry-Kim was born in Goheung in Jeolla Province.

Gendry-Kim brings a masterpiece of world literature to life with bold, expressive lines that capture a denuded landscape brutally forced into transition and the people who must find their way back to each other within it. It’s 1951, in the middle of the Korean War, and two young souls are about to fall in love. The Naked Tree paints a stark portrait of a single nation’s fabric slowly torn to shreds by political upheaval and armed conflict. Translated by Janet Hong.Ĭritically acclaimed and award-winning cartoonist Keum suk Gendry-Kim returns with a stunning addition to her body of graphic fiction rooted in Korean history.

D+Q has acquired World English rights to The Naked Tree, Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s comic adaptation of the beloved Korean novel by Park Wan-seo. We’re so proud to share the book’s cover today! In stores Spring 2023.

Keum suk gendry kim the waiting