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Soyoung Kwon
For Soyoung Kwon's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2006
Picturing North Korean propaganda
Japan's comic craze was first documented for the West with the publication of Frederick Schodt's "Manga Manga, The World of Japanese Comics" (1983). Since then, the production and consumption of manga and anime -- its moving picture equivalent -- have spread to China and the Republic of Korea. More recently, on the production side, North Korea has emerged as a destination for "outsourcing" the heavy manual labor element of both manga and anime, as illustrated by French-Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle's introspective graphic novel "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea" (2005). Almost nothing, however, has been written on the indigenous manga industry in North Korea.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2005
Pyongyang under EU's wing
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The European Union is increasingly showing a new independent stance on foreign-policy issues as the logic of its industrial and economic integration plays out in the international arena.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2005
Foggy North Korean shuffle
BRUSSELS -- Recent events in North Korea have been interpreted in various ways and, generally, the wish has been father to the thought. The truth is difficult to discern, but indications are that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has placed himself firmly behind a reform program that may finally bring the country in from the cold. The fact that Pyongyang is considering applying for observer status at the World Trade Organization supports this contention.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores