COMIC ON JAPAN'S WARTIME SEXUAL SLAVERY

[Anchor Lead]

A comic book by a Korean writer about the unspeakable suffering of a former sex slave of the Japanese military has earned global acclaim, and even won the Harvey Award, known as the Oscar of the comic industry.

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This year's New York Comic Con was held online for the first time in its history. The Top Harvey Award in the Best International Book category went to a creative work of a Korean writer. Keum Suk Gendry-Kim became the first Korean writer to win the award.

[Soundbite] KEUM SUK GENDRY-KIM : "I would like to extend my gratitude to Janet Hong, who translated my work. It's a great honor for me to receive the Harvey Award."

"Grass" is a story about a Korean victim of Japanese wartime sex slavery. Its main character is a girl who dreamed of being able to attend school. But one day she is abducted by strangers. She was taken to a camp in China where women were forced to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese army. This is where the girl's life, dreams and innocence were crushed. The girl's name is Lee Ok-seon. The author drew 480 pictures in three years. It was a challenging endeavor.

[Soundbite] KEUM SUK GENDRY-KIM(AUTHOR OF "GRASS") : "Ms. Lee shed tears after just looking at the cover. When she saw the image of a girl with braided hair, she said, crying, that it was her father who had done her hair."

The story of a repressed woman struck a chord with readers from around the world. The New York Times, The Guardian and other media sources lauded "Grass" as the best comic of 2019. The author is now working on a book about a family that became separated during the Korean War. It highlights the painful history that must in no way be overlooked.

[Soundbite] "I began the process because I wanted to tell stories about the concealed truth, the inconvenient truth. I want to continue to write stories about that as long as I can hold a brush in my hand."