@article{ART003270325},
author={Kim Yejin and Mo Heejune},
title={Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─},
journal={Korean Language & Literature},
issn={1229-1730},
year={2025},
number={131},
pages={109-129}
TY - JOUR
AU - Kim Yejin
AU - Mo Heejune
TI - Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─
JO - Korean Language & Literature
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 131
PB - Korean Language & Literature
SP - 109
EP - 129
SN - 1229-1730
AB - The term “anti-communist comics” refers to a genre that continued to appear steadily after the Korean War. Eokkaedongmu (Shoulder to Shoulder) serialized such anti-communist comics intensively between 1970 and 1972. The magazine Eokkaedongmu was first published in 1967 by Yuk Young-soo. Although it was intended as a children’s magazine, it implicitly incorporated elements related to South Korea’s politics and state policies of the time―for example, themes such as anti-communism, the Saemaul (New Village) Movement, and the Yushin regime. In this sense, Eokkaedongmu can be regarded not merely as a children’s magazine but also as a medium of political propaganda directed at children.
This study examines the manifestations of anti-communist ideology in two comics― Bangulbeom (The Bell Tiger) and I Came from the North―serialized in Eokkaedongmu from 1970 to 1972. The purpose is to analyze how Eokkaedongmu functioned not simply as a magazine for children but as a vehicle for political propaganda during that period.
Bangulbeom is an allegorical “animal war serial comic” depicting a conflict between the “Livestock Army” and the “Beast Army.” Through anthropomorphic animal characters drawn in a friendly style, the comic conveys a sense of hostility toward communism and justifies war. In contrast, I Came from the North is based on the true story of a defector from North Korea. By dramatizing a real-life narrative, it heightens awareness of the presence of spies active throughout South Korea and reinforces the perception that the South is superior to the North.
Through these two works, this study explores how anti-communist ideology in the 1970s approached children and investigates how Eokkaedongmu embodied political and economic ideologies―such as anti-communism, the Yushin system, and the Saemaul Movement―through the medium of a children’s magazine.
KW - anti-communist comics;Eokkaedongmu;Saemaul(New Village) Movement;Bangulbeom(The Bell Tiger);I Came from the North―serialized;Economic ideologies;anti-communism
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Kim Yejin and Mo Heejune. (2025). Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─. Korean Language & Literature, 131, 109-129.
Kim Yejin and Mo Heejune. 2025, "Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─", Korean Language & Literature, no.131, pp.109-129.
Kim Yejin, Mo Heejune "Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─" Korean Language & Literature 131 pp.109-129 (2025) : 109.
Kim Yejin, Mo Heejune. Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─. 2025; 131 : 109-129.
Kim Yejin and Mo Heejune. "Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─" Korean Language & Literature no.131(2025) : 109-129.
Kim Yejin; Mo Heejune. Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─. Korean Language & Literature, 131, 109-129.
Kim Yejin; Mo Heejune. Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─. Korean Language & Literature. 2025; 131 109-129.
Kim Yejin, Mo Heejune. Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─. 2025; 131 : 109-129.
Kim Yejin and Mo Heejune. "Aspects of Anti-Communist Comics in Eokkaedongmu (1970-1972)─ Focusing on I Came from the North and The Bell Tiger ─" Korean Language & Literature no.131(2025) : 109-129.
