Authors:
Nair Anup Chandrasekharan, Department of English, Bishop Moore College - ORCID

Amrutha Mohan: ORCID

Abstract: »Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s conflict comics Grass (trans. Janet Hong) and The Waiting (trans. Janet Hong) illustrate the deleterious consequences of wars and conflicts. By sharing their traumatic memories with the next generation, the protagonists Ok-sun and Gwija transgress the normative temporalities, so as to combat the potential effacement of their appalling experiences from public consciousness. This article addresses how comics act as an ideal apparatus for representing the intergenerational transfer of memories and trauma. The technology of the comics form recreates the visuals of the political turmoil and graphically resuscitates the sufferings of the ordinary citizens and the traumatic memories precipitated by horrendous events. By recovering, recording and remediating the micro-histories of the civilians, these graphic testimonies reframe the historical events, thereby often challenging the sanitised version of the official history of the nation. The transfer of memories across generations and the reconstruction of the past assert the enormous potential of memories and the pertinacious resistance it offers against repressive regimes and hegemonic discourses. The article discusses how Gendry-Kim’s graphic narratives, capacitated by the effective use of visual and verbal tropes, emphasise the role of (post)memory as a form of resistance against historical erasure and forgetting.« (Source: Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics)

Wikipedia: History of Asia: History of Japan / Shōwa era | History of Asia: History of Korea / Korea under Japanese rule | Comics: Keum Suk Gendry-Kim / Grass (graphic novel) | Prostitution: Forced prostitution / Comfort women | Sex and the law: Wartime sexual violence / Sexual violence in World War II | War: Pacific War / Japanese war crimes