Madame Choi and the Monsters
In 1978, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il had South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee kidnapped because he loved her films. Spat’s graphic novel recounts this true story, interspersing it with a reimagining of a folktale that Korea’s first kaiju film, Pulgasari, was based on. This serves two purposes – it becomes an allegory for political strife in both Koreas, but its also a failed South Korean film that Kim wanted remade. To do so, he later captured Choi’s director ex-husband, Shin Sang-ok, as well.
This dual story-telling format means that Spat has quite a bit of ground to cover. This includes Choi and Shin’s first meeting, their romance, film careers, marital troubles, kidnapping, reuniting, and escape in less that 200 pages. It’s hardly enough time to sketch in details even if half the pages weren’t devoted to a folktale where a blacksmith’s daughter’s relatively carefree life is upset when the king kidnaps her father for forced labor. She must work with her fellow townspeople and some magical beings to rescue or avenge their loved ones.
However, the brevity works. There’s certainly enough story to fill volumes of nonfiction prose, but as an enticing introduction to Korean history and folklore, this shines. Readers are likely to finish this with many questions that are readily answerable with a bit of research. The downside is that occasionally the narrative feels abrupt as it switches between Choi and the pulgasari story. This is amplified by the spare art style. Sheree Domingo’s art style emphasizes emotion and vibe. For instance, Choi on a picnic with her children versus Choi as an actress talking to the press with Marilyn Monroe could almost be different graphic novels entirely – a great representation of the different eras of Choi’s life. The color palette consists mostly of blues and yellows, with occasional reds. Otherwise, it’s mostly black and white and contained in the expected panels. Domingo breaks free with phenomenal full page spreads where the passage of time occurs in torn off calendar pages or film cels.
There is something a little off-putting about the speech bubbles font in the English translation that isn’t present in either the Korean or German text. There is also a full-page panel featuring a protest that has footnoted translations placed rather awkwardly. The volume ends with a few pages of text that give a more succinct timeline, which is appreciated. It also may delight readers of a certain age since it mentions Choi and Shin’s involvement in the Three Ninjas movie franchise.
I happily recommend Madame Choi and the Monsters: A True Story for library collections as an interesting insight into Korean history. The kidnapping and strange behaviour of Kim Jong-Il is a great hook to draw readers in before giving them a greater insight into Korean culture and history. Aspects of Korea’s arts are trending these days with the love for K-pop, manhwa, and K-dramas continuing to rise, so that may translate into greater interest in Korea as a whole.
This title is geared towards adults not only because of the serious subject matter, but it does contain a couple panels of nudity in addition to domestic violence and infidelity. There is on page violence, but it is more disturbing for implications rather than the imagery.
Madame Choi and the Monsters: A True StoryÂ
By Patrick Spat
Art by Sheree Domingo
Abrams, 2024
ISBN: 9781914224225Â
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
Creator Representation:Â German,
Character Representation:Â Korean, North Korean, South Korean,
