By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Stephanie Pradnyaparamita
Photos = Stephanie Pradnyaparamita
For Indonesians who like to read comicbooks, they must be familiar with one of the currently best-known comic strip characters, Juki. Faza Meonk, the creator of Juki, recently published "Si Juki : Seri Jalan-jalan, Petualangan di Korea," or "Juki : The Traveling Series, Adventures in Korea," at Popcon Asia 2017 in Jakarta on Aug. 5. This newest volume in the Juki series is really interesting because not many comic strip characters go travelling. The first edition of this travelling series is about Korea. Even better, there's a collaboration going on between the character Juki from Indonesia and Larva, the famous cartoon character from Korea.
"Juki : The Travelling Series, Adventure in Korea" is basically about Juki and Juleha, his cousin, on their trip to Korea. When they arrive in Korea, Juki and Juleha meet Red Larva and Yellow Larva and the story of their adventures in Korea starts here. Along with their stories traveling around Korea, this comic book also provides not only information about some famous tourist sites in Korea, like Nami Island, the N-Seoul Tower, the Lotte World Tower, the Yeouido Hangang Park and Myeongdong, but also another 101 travel tips for Korea, like renting a portable Wi-Fi broadcaster, having hot packs in the cold weather, some explanation about Korean food, and even some information you should know before going to Korea, such as the need for Indonesians to apply for a visa to get into Korea.
Juki, Juleha, Red Larva and Yellow Larva also visit Pyeongchang and talk about the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games that will take place there next year. The most interesting part is when they visit Jumunjin Beach, one of the filming sites for "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 – 도깨비). Juleha is really excited, as that soap opera is one of her favorites. This part of the comic book really shows how tourism in Korea nowadays is not only about historical places or modern buildings, but also soap operas. Just like the two larva that are really funny, Juki and Juleha are mostly similar. They will bring a lot of laughs for readers who read this comic.
As the comic strip is supported by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), people will really get a comprehensive and complete view of Korea, especially from the Indonesian point of view, in a very smooth and fun manner. Besides, Faza Meonk, the creator, is also an honorary tourism ambassador for the city of Seoul and has been given an award by the mayor of Seoul, Park Won Soon.
This comic book is actually suitable for people across all ages, and especially for those who want to visit Korea. You can get inspiration and even set a rough itinerary for your travels to Korea by reading this comic book. Hopefully, there will be more collaboration projects between Indonesia and Korea in the future, especially in fun ways like this comic.
wisdom117@korea.kr
