By Cho Sang-hee
Staff Writer


Kim Song-hwan is renowned as the author of ?obau, one of the most popularly known comic figures in Korea. But he is also an artist with a multi-faceted lifetime creation.

Ranging from literati paintings borrowing the styles of old ink brush art to pen illustrations documenting people? lives in bygone decades, the senior cartoonist? works are ?oo interesting to be kept in the artist? collection.

Kim, often called the ?ld Gentleman Gobau, is showing off varied works and examples of his famous four-frame cartoons for daily newspapers of the past 50 years. He created the popular character in l950 during the Korea War, when he was l8.

Starting in l955 at the Dong-A Ilbo and subsequently moving to the Munhwa Ilbo after working for years at the Chosun Ilbo, the ?obau-manhwa (Gobau cartoon) set a record of l4,l39 consecutive days of publication, the longest running cartoon strip of its kind in the world.

Arguably the most memorable fictitious personality in a public medium, ?obau ceased its run in the newspaper last September as Kim, 69, recently retired from the Munhwa Ilbo.

However, hundreds of exhibition visitors saluted him with unreserved respect when the ?obau Half Century Exhibition opened at the exhibition hall of Seoul? Sejong Center for the Performing Arts last November.

The tape-cutting ceremoney was attended by National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup, Grand National Party President Lee Hoi-chang, Prime Minister Lee Han-dong, Culture-Tourism Minister Kim Han-gil and Seoul Mayor Goh Kun.

A platoon of celebrated cartoonists were in attendance as well, creating a who? who of leading Koreans in the profession, including Lee Tu-ho, Lee Hyon-se, Shin Tong-hon, Chong Un-gyong, Park Jae-dong, Park Su-dong, and Kim Su-jong, just to name a few. They presented Kim with congratulatory drawings of their own creations.

A dozen leading foreign cartoonists who befriended Kim have drawn ?obau encountering each of their own caricatures in commemoration of Kim? 50-year career. Among them is Roy Raymond from Britain whose works were carried in Readers Digest and Playboy magazine.

Kim Chung-bae, a senior journalist, said, ?obau lives in our minds as a neighbor closer than any real neighbor could ever be.

He was commented on by Japan? Mainichi Shimbun as a spokesman of Koreans ?or their voiceless voice.
In a tribute to the veteran cartoonist, the Information-Communication Ministry issued a stamp depicting Gobau? different transformations throughout the years.

The artist himself has set up a collection of subdued color drawings and illustrations titled ?etrospection as most of the examples portray grass-roots situations of people at a pub, markets and shanty urban neighborhoods in the postwar l950s. The settings include Chongyechon, Tongdaemun of Seoul and Taegu, featuring war refugees. Some of his earlier works have been donated by the artist to the National Library.

In his latest works of Mt. Kumgang in North Korea, the artist presents a diversity of animal characters, turning himself from the position of an observer of people? lives with a common-sense approach to that of genre painting with an Orwellian vision the artist might have upon his retirement.