Noted Korean War writer and journalist Andrew Salmon has recently published an article in the Joong Ang Ilbo about someone that many people who study the Korean War may not be familiar with, the artist by the pen name of Gobau:

Kim Song-hwan, 78, is Korea’s most famous living cartoonist. For years, his work graced this country’s two major newspapers; he was twice interrogated under the authoritarian regimes and 200 of his strips were expunged. He has been lauded by fellow cartoonists including Malaysia’s Lat and Britain’s Frank Finch; films have been made of his output; and Ph.D. dissertations on his work reside at Harvard and Kyoto universities. Today retired, with his full collection residing at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, this cheerful and sprightly little man can rest on his laurels.

Things were not always so comfortable. His pen name “Gobau (Strong Rock) came to him in the summer of 1950, when, as an 18-year-old, he was hiding out from North Korean troops amid the chaos of the Korean War. A high school student and part-time magazine illustrator (“We had cameras, but printing was not so good; photos often came out black!”) living just outside Seoul at the time of North Korea’s June 25, 1950 invasion, he recorded the dramatic events of those days with a blend of delicate Oriental watercolor work and the sensitive pen cartoons that would later become his trademark.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

Click the link to read the rest of the article. The Joong Ang Ilbo also has a photo gallery with a collection of Kim Song-hwan’s work such as this portrait of refugees fleeing North Korea after the Chinese Army entered war and caused the retreat of the UN forces:

Freezing Holocaust North Korea has been lost.

Fortunately Andrew Salmon has also uploaded a number of Gobau’s portraits on to the website he uses to promote his excellent book To the Last Round:

All Hail, Kim’s Men! It is June 28th. The war is less than three days old, but Seoul has fallen. The NKPA, mounted on Russian T34s, march triumphantly through the streets. “Some workers welcomed them – they thought it would be a different world – but not as many as I thought,” said Gobau. “There were NKPA going by in jeeps saying ‘Give them a big hand!’ but it was only some workers and children who did.” Sophisticated Seoulites would soon be chuckling to hear of the thirsty NKPA troops who mistook the Chosun Hotel’s toilets for drinking fountains.

Tactical Bullock Cart: While photos and newsreels focussed on the NKPA’s formidable T34s, behind the armoured spearhead, the echelons relied on more tradtional transport – such as this well-camouflaged bullock cart. These methods were not alien to the “Great Leader” himself: Kim Il-sung had learned his warcraft in the Red Army, which, during World War II, had made effective use of horse-drawn Panje carts in the rough terrain of the Eastern Front.

Attack Run: Dressed as peasants, North Korean soldiers collecting the rice harvest scatter as a US F80 Shooting Star screams in on a strafing run. The NKPA ruse of disguising themselves as civilians – a ruse that would later also be used by the Chinese – would create major problems for UN Command units who could not distinguish friend from enemy, and would have terrible repurcussions for civilians caught in the crossfire of an increasingly brutal war.

Anyone who has read my No Gun Ri postings would understand what a significant issue the mixing of civilian and enemy uniforms became in the Korean War.  Make sure to check out the rest of the pictures on Andy’s site.  Not only does the site have a number of great portraits done by Gobau, but even more background information about one of the greatest ilustrators in Korean history.