A BEST-SELLING comic book meant to teach young South Koreans about foreign countries has ignited controversy over its anti-Semitic messages instead.
Written by visual arts professor Lee Won Bok, it did not raise a peep in South Korea, despite selling over 10 million copies since the 1980s, reported Los Angeles Times.
Three panels of graphics were found to contain explicit anti-Semitic messages.
One of the strips about the US, published three years ago, explained that 'Arab terrorists despise the United States and destroyed the World Trade Centre with suicide attacks because Jews use money and the news media as weapons to control the United States'.
The strip then explained that 'New York became the target of terrorists because the city is the general headquarters of Jews'.
Another shows a newspaper, magazine, TV and radio, with this description: 'In a word, American public debate belongs to the Jews and it's no exaggeration to say that (US media) is the voice of the Jews.'
According to the International Herald Tribune, the controversial book, Distant Countries and Neighbouring Countries, was one in Prof Lee's series of books teaching young South Koreans about foreign countries in a comic book format.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Wiesenthal Centre, a Jewish human rights organisation in Los Angeles, learnt about the book earlier this month from bloggers in Seoul.
WATCH THE FACTS
He promptly wrote to the publisher to 'carefully review the slanders in this book' that historically have led to 'anti-Semitic violence and genocide' and instead, 'consider providing facts about the Jewish people, our religion and values to young Koreans'.
Korean-American community leaders who met with Rabbi Cooper said they were not only disgusted but embarrassed by the book.
They added they will approach the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles as well as officials in charge of publication and education in Seoul.
They also vowed to launch a protest against Gimm-Young Publishers, the publisher of the series.
'I don't have words to describe the outrage I feel... The depictions are explosive,' said Mr Yohngsohk Choe, co-chairman of the Korean American Patriotic Action Movement in the US.
South Korean news media reported that the author had sent a letter to the LA-based Korean-American Coalition, apologising and promising to make corrections in the controversial segments of his books.
Prof Lee also denied he was a racist.
Rabbi Cooper is now calling all Koreans to 'denounce the bigotry'.
He was still not satisfied with an e-mail response from Mr Park Eun-ju, CEO of Gimm-Young.
But his focus is not on apology so much as how to replace the 'disgusting and vile' images with correct ones.
Source
Racist Korean comics spark outrage in US 
Linear Mode
