My Friend Kim Jong Un

Award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim contemplates and explores the long shadow North Korea casts over Korean society

On an island located an hour from Seoul, North Korea sits visible from cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s home and studio. The specter of the infamous dictatorship and nuclear power looms over daily life. Artillery fire, helicopters, and sirens from a nearby military base paint the acoustic landscape. In her award-winning books Grass and The Waiting, Gendry-Kim documents the pain and heartbreak of Korea’s history. In My Friend Kim Jong-Un, she looks to the present—to the man currently responsible for upholding the national divide created after World War Two. 

While the rest of the world partakes in the popularity of Korean culture, a certain unease and anxiety hangs in the air in South Korea as its people still grapple with the distrust and anger of one culture split into two distinct societies. Gendry-Kim explores the life of the supreme leader, searching for commonalities to make sense of the daily fear: from his birth to his international education, his hobbies, and his relationships. She weaves her personal accounts and includes interviews with former South Korean president Moon Jae-in, North Korean defectors, researchers, journalists, and even Kim’s former chef.

Translated by the award-winning Janet Hong, My Friend… is a cautionary tale on what makes a dictator, at a time when these lessons are more relevant in the West than ever. | “The Waiting... continues Gendry-Kim's unflinching portrayal of the displacement caused by war, migration, and bias.”—NPR

"The artist’s stark brushstrokes and narrative masterstrokes make an affecting combination, as hope and heartbreak span generations."—The Washington Post

“The traumas of history blur into the present in a time-bending Korean graphic novel.”"—The Los Angeles Times

"Gendry-Kim... prov[es] yet again that she’s an essential voice in global comics."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review | Keum Suk Gendry-Kim was born in Goheung in Jeolla Province. A prolific cartoonist, her books have been translated around the world, and her graphic novels Grass, The Waiting, The Naked Tree, Dog Days, and, soon, My friend Kim Jong-Un have been translated to English. Grass appeared on Best of the Year lists from The New York Times and The Guardian, and received the Cartoonist Studio Prize for the Best Print Comic of the Year, the Big Other Book Award for Best Graphic Novel, the Harvey Award for Best International Book, and the Krause Essay Prize.