Nambul: War Stories
Encyclopedia
Nambul: War Stories is a manhwa
series of the military drama genre written by Lee Hyun-se
(Hangul: 이현세; Hanja: 李賢世; Revised Romanization: I Hyeon-se) which started in 1994. The story relates from various levels (political to personal) an imaginary conflict between Korea
and Japan
at an unspecified time in the near future. Three volumes have been translated into English
by Anh Chul-hyun and published by Central Park Media
in 2004.
As the second Middle East
ern war drives the world economy toward another crisis, Japan decides to invade Indonesia
in search of a new source of oil. Forces are being deployed, and secret alliances are being made. Meanwhile, urban violence explodes onto the streets of Tokyo
, and Hae-sung, the leader of a Korean-Japanese
teenage mob, gets caught on camera by an NHK
reporter as he murders a Yakuza
boss.
Political tensions reach boiling point as the exposure of Korean concentration camps in Indonesia leads Korea to enter the war. Alliances between neighboring countries are forged as the world readies itself for a massive clash. In the midst of the chaos, Hae-sung must hide from the police and the Yakuza, both of whom want to find and execute him.
The ramifications of Korea's war against Japan are felt closer to home as Korean citizens living in Japan are branded as "outsiders". The tragedy of Auschwitz repeats itself as these people are forced to wear identifying armbands, are ostracized by the Japanese populace and forced into Korean ghettos. The segregation takes a turn for the worse as Koreans are herded onto trains and sent to war camps. All the while, Korean and Japanese armed forces wage all-out war against each other on land, sea and air.
The lucky ones, like Yusung and Uhmji, lose their jobs but are allowed to return home to the Oh family residence. With the fugitive Hae-Sung now in police custody, the Yakuza look to his family for revenge.
Yusung (Hideo)
Uhmji (Rie)
Manhwa
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons . Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korean comics. The term, along with manga, is a cognate of the Chinese manhua...
series of the military drama genre written by Lee Hyun-se
Lee Hyun-se
Lee Hyun-se is a representative cartoonist of Korea, and he was the president of The Korea Cartoonist Association. Now he is the chairman of and a professor in the Department of Comic Animation at Sejong University....
(Hangul: 이현세; Hanja: 李賢世; Revised Romanization: I Hyeon-se) which started in 1994. The story relates from various levels (political to personal) an imaginary conflict between Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
at an unspecified time in the near future. Three volumes have been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Anh Chul-hyun and published by Central Park Media
Central Park Media
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York, that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga and manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009...
in 2004.
Story
Synopsis up to Book 3; constructed from official synopsesAs the second Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern war drives the world economy toward another crisis, Japan decides to invade Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
in search of a new source of oil. Forces are being deployed, and secret alliances are being made. Meanwhile, urban violence explodes onto the streets of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and Hae-sung, the leader of a Korean-Japanese
Zainichi Korean
Koreans in Japan are the ethnic Korean residents of Japan. They currently constitute the second largest ethnic minority group in Japan. The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans, also often known as Zainichi for short, who are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan...
teenage mob, gets caught on camera by an NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
reporter as he murders a Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
boss.
Political tensions reach boiling point as the exposure of Korean concentration camps in Indonesia leads Korea to enter the war. Alliances between neighboring countries are forged as the world readies itself for a massive clash. In the midst of the chaos, Hae-sung must hide from the police and the Yakuza, both of whom want to find and execute him.
The ramifications of Korea's war against Japan are felt closer to home as Korean citizens living in Japan are branded as "outsiders". The tragedy of Auschwitz repeats itself as these people are forced to wear identifying armbands, are ostracized by the Japanese populace and forced into Korean ghettos. The segregation takes a turn for the worse as Koreans are herded onto trains and sent to war camps. All the while, Korean and Japanese armed forces wage all-out war against each other on land, sea and air.
The lucky ones, like Yusung and Uhmji, lose their jobs but are allowed to return home to the Oh family residence. With the fugitive Hae-Sung now in police custody, the Yakuza look to his family for revenge.
Characters
Hae-sung- Leader of "The Korean Dogs", a vicious street gang, where he is known under the name "The Dog" (진돗개; Jindos-GaeKorea Jindo DogThe Korean Jindo Dog is a breed of hunting dog known to have originated on Jindo Island in South Korea. Brought to the US with Korean immigrants, it is celebrated in its native land for its fierce loyalty and brave nature...
). He feels that he is above the law, and that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. People fear him, and he is quick to use violence to prove a point. He seems to be totally in control, but there are three people that make him question that feeling: an abusive father that treats him like a dog, a rich brother (Yusung) that pays lots of money to keep Hae-sung out of trouble, and Uhmji, the woman he loves. After being caught on camera by an NHK reporter as he murders a Yakuza boss, he becomes a fugitive from both the law and the Yakuza.
Yusung (Hideo)
- Hae-sung's brother is one of the richest men in Japan. A highly respected businessman that can make a million just by punching some numbers on a keyboard, Yusung secretly helps his brother get out of trouble by paying for his mistakes. Having a Japanese wife (Eiko) and a daughter, his life seems almost perfect, but his strong sense of patriotic duty toward Korea is getting stronger. As the war between the two countries starts and Koreans in Japan are increasingly persecuted, he loses this position of power.
Uhmji (Rie)
- Yusung's former lover left two years ago, leaving her life behind and making it on her own. After becoming a police officer, she gets reintroduced to her old flame. She also finds out that Hae-sung secretly has feelings for her. As Koreans in Japan are persecuted and sent to war camps, she and Hyeri are forced to serve guards as comfort womenComfort womenThe term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
.