Comments on: Manhwa Monday: My Kingdom for a Copy of the Wall Street Journal

By: Sara K.

Sara K. — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:42:10 +0000

Well, it makes a lot of sense from the marketing angle too. Treating manhwa as a subset of manga makes it seem second-rate, and making anything seem second rate is not good marketing. Treating manhwa as a fine aspect of Korean culture does not stigmatize it in the eyes of potential customers.

It is also, of course, the respectful thing to do.

That said, there is a closer affinity between manga and manhwa than either has to Western comics, and it makes more sense to market it to the manga crowd than the superhero crowd.

NBM does treat their manhwa as noteworthy comics from Korea, not as a Korean version of American-style comics or BD (I don’t think NBM publishes manga). However, NBM is not going to put out something like Goong without a major change in their business strategy.

By: Melinda Beasi

Melinda Beasi — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:09:33 +0000

I admit part of my attitude on this is based less on marketing strategy and more just… I think manhwa deserves it. :) Not to exacerbate old wounds, but when you think about Korea’s history with Japan (especially in the last century), presenting manhwa in a way that almost encourages people to regard it as a subset of manga is the wrong thing to do.

By: Sara K.

Sara K. — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:36:55 +0000

I don’t know any more about manhwa/manga marketing than you, so I too may get the executives’ eye-rolls, but I think you have an excellent point about establishing manhwa as Korean stuff instead of as an extension of manga. I know people for whom that approach would be much more effective than treating manhwa as a complement to manga.

By: Manhwa Controversy! « All About Comics

Manhwa Controversy! « All About Comics — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:10:54 +0000

[...] Manhwa Controversy! Jump to Comments So it seems people are pretty riled up about my post on manhwa thanks to Melinda Beasli mentioning it in her most recent Manhwa Monday post. [...]

By: Melinda Beasi

Melinda Beasi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:33:43 +0000

Maybe the word I really should have used is “interest.” Most people who are in to manga and anime are also really interested in Japanese culture. All the cultural details in manga and anime–they want to know what they are, they discuss them, and even copy them. There are blogs upon blogs dedicated not just to anime and manga but Japanese pop culture in general. You don’t see that happening with manhwa.

By: Travis

Travis — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:29:49 +0000

I…really don’t think that most readers have an understanding of Japanese culture. At all. If they did, they would not view manga and anime as white people dressed up funny.

By: Melinda Beasi

Melinda Beasi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:28:06 +0000

I think that part of the problem is that it is basically being marketed as manga, even though it isn’t. I get why they do it that way. It’s mostly being published by manga publishers, and maybe they feel like manga fans are more likely to pick it up if it’s marketed the same way. But I think that just plays into the existing problem more than anything else. I think what manhwa really needs is for readers to have a greater understanding of Korean culture, they way they do of Japanese culture, to put it into context.

Probably the folks in charge of marketing at Tokyopop and Yen Press are rolling their eyes at me right now, and maybe they’re right. I’d just really like to see manhwa establish a real identity for itself with English-speaking readers.

By: Travis

Travis — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:20:29 +0000

It definitely doesn’t seem to be marketed as aggressively as manga is today (more like manga was when I first got into it in the early ’90s).

I think in terms of just what’s on the shelves, a lot (maybe even most) people buying stuff are not going to be able to tell that something is manhwa vs manga. Most Americans don’t know what is a Korean name and what is a Japanese name, or whether those squiggly lines in the background are hangul sound effects or kana, you know?

So I definitely think if there’s an imbalance, it’s due to marketing rather than to buyers preferring one over the other. (Of course manga has the big names, too, in terms of artists and series, and it’s got the anime tie-ins, which helps immensely.)

By: Melinda Beasi

Melinda Beasi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:02:59 +0000

I figured. :)

You know, I thought a lot about whether or not to link to it in my column, but in the end I thought, well, waaaay too many manga fans have this perception of manhwa being a “cheap imitation” of manga (this is not the first time I’ve come across that characterization) and the best way to combat that kind of attitude is to thrust it into the conversation and hope that there are some knowledgeable fans up to the task of educating less knowledgeable fans. Politely, one hopes, but you never know on the internet. I guess we’ll see what happens.

I have a lot of opinions about what’s missing when it comes to selling manhwa in this market, but you may be right that I’m expecting too much too soon.

I’m not knowledgeable enough about the manhwa scene in Korea to speak to your last point, but perhaps someone else is! I do know there is a lot more variety than what we see here.

By: Travis

Travis — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:24:40 +0000

Er, that article about manhwa popularity, I meant.