By Honorary Reporter Vincenzo Acampora Carratura from Italy

Visitors check out the manhwa exhibition at the Comicon in Naples, Italy. (Comicon)

Comicon, Italy's biggest comics festival, was held in Naples from April 25-29, drawing 170,000 visitors to mark 140 years of ties between Korea and Italy

My friend and I were hired to coordinate activities for this event including an art exhibition, K-pop competition and Korean food gala.

The exhibition "K-wave Manhwa in Motion: The Korean Gaze" was the highlight of the Korean hall. Manhwa (cartoons) and webtoons are popular in Italy and designed for smartphones, allowing readers to read and share content anytime and anywhere.

This year's Comicon displayed works by Korean webtoonists and cartoonists like Won Soo-yeon, known for "Full House," and Park Jae-kwang, a cartoonist who worked on DC Comics' "Batman: The World" with Kim Jung-gi.

Artist Park Jae-kwang draws during the event. (Vincenzo Acampora Carratura)

Park did live art at the festival depicting bilateral relations with Naples as the backdrop. I was fortunate to receive a personalized drawing from him at the event.

Shin Jong-cheol, director of the Korea Manhwa Content Agency, called the event a great opportunity to learn about his country's cartoon and webtoon industry that will enhance bilateral cultural exchange. 

Comicon director Claudio Curcio agreed, saying collaboration will continue in October at the Bucheon International Comics Festival in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, where Italian comic artists will be featured.

Park Jae-kwang shows a personalized drawing. (Vincenzo Acampora Carratura)

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.