Artist Myung Min-ho's Work... Also a Hot Topic Locally
Depicts Korean War Veterans and Korean Emergency Rescue Team
"Comforting the Turkish People Through Art" Reported
Comic illustrator Myung Min-ho sent condolences to T?rkiye and Syria, and the drawings he posted on his social networking service (SNS) are becoming a hot topic in T?rkiye as well.
On the 10th, Myung posted two drawings on Instagram depicting a Turkish soldier caring for war orphans during the Korean War and the activities of the Korean emergency rescue team helping children affected by the earthquake in T?rkiye. Both works feature one child and one adult man. The drawing depicting the Korean War is in black and white tones, with only the Turkish flag on the military uniform shown in red. The soldier is kneeling and gently stroking the head of a girl with short hair wearing rubber shoes. The child is also holding what appears to be chocolate. In the second drawing, a Korean emergency rescue team member is similarly kneeling and giving water to a child. The backgrounds in both drawings show ruins caused by war and earthquake, respectively.
Along with the artwork, Myung wrote, "I send my deepest condolences to the brotherly country T?rkiye through this drawing," and added, "I hope that their spirits will not collapse." He also expressed "deep condolences to Syria, which is suffering the same damage."
As of the afternoon of the 12th, the post had surpassed 312,000 likes. There were also over 11,500 comments, with local Turkish netizens visiting the post and leaving comments in both Turkish and Korean. Through their comments, they expressed deep emotion and gratitude, saying things like, "Thank you for your help," "I cried. I printed this drawing and pasted it in my diary. I don't know how much happiness this drawing brings me," and "It very well expresses that we are brotherly countries. Let's never forget each other."
Myung’s artwork was also shared on other SNS platforms and quickly spread. A Twitter post introducing this drawing recorded over 3.13 million views and more than 160,000 likes.
Turkish media outlets such as Cumhuriyet and 7 News also introduced the drawing. Cumhuriyet said the drawing "reminds us of the Korean-T?rkiye joint film 'Ayla'." The 2017 film 'Ayla' depicts the story of S?leyman, a Turkish soldier who participated in the Korean War as part of the United Nations forces, raising a 5-year-old orphan named Ayla whom he met during the war as his daughter. Additionally, 7 News reported, "A Korean illustrator comforted the Turkish people by expressing T?rkiye’s support during the Korean War 73 years ago through his drawings."
Myung Min-ho has gathered over 580,000 readers by serializing 'Rainbow for You,' which calmly expresses everyday moments on Naver Grafolio and Instagram. He was responsible for the closing illustrations of tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block' from 2020 to 2022, served as a promotional ambassador for Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2019, and has published books such as 'I Will Gather Shining Things and Give Them to You' and 'My Universe Was All You.'
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