Grass

Grass is a powerful anti-war graphic novel that tells the true story of Ok-sun Lee, a South Korean woman sold by her own family as a child and forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army. She is one of many women captured to serve soldiers in so-called “comfort stations” across China and Japanese-occupied territories during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II—one of the most shameful episodes in human history. Now in her nineties, Ok-sun Lee has become a prominent activist seeking reparations for “comfort women,” and we follow her tragic life story through her accounts to author Keum Suk Gendry-Kim.

Although the book was published in South Korea just three years ago, in 2017, it has already been released in six other languages and has garnered awards and critical acclaim worldwide. It won the Special Bulles d’Humanité Award from the renowned French newspaper L’Humanité; made The New York Times and The Guardian’s lists of best comics of 2019; received The Cartoonist Studio Prize, the Big Other Book Award, and the VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award; and was nominated in three categories at the prestigious Eisner Awards in 2020: Best Writer/Artist, Best Reality-Based Work, and Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.

Grass’s great success lies in bringing this grave war crime to light through a narrative that is both accessible and shocking, always emphasizing the protagonist’s strength and determination to overcome adversity and survive.

This edition from publisher Pipoca & Nanquim, translated directly from Korean, features 492 pages on 90gsm offset paper, a hardcover with a soft-touch dust jacket and spot UV varnish, a rounded spine, and a fabric bookmark ribbon.