Nambul War Stories Vol-1: Invasion!
Story by: Hyun Se Lee
Artwork: Hyun Se Lee
Pages: 312
Published Domestically by: CPM Press
By: Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Back in my old student years (has it really been 10+ years since I entered college!? Yikes!) at Loyola College I was primarily a business student, but on the side I also happened to be working hard towards a minor in Asian history. This latter concentration didn’t really add to much in my real world undertakings, but it did broaden my scope of knowledge in Asian history and literature. One of the subjects that I remember studying about was the deep cultural and political divide that existed (and still exists) between Korea and Japan, something that among many different causes can be directly attributed to be the result of several battles and invasions between the two countries.

In Nambul War Stories Hyun Se Lee uses this animosity between the two nations and their history together to create a world that mixes military, political, and cultural warfare in an attempt to “redeem the lost history and pride of my poor self and my people”. To say the subject matter is controversial would be a major understatement!

Story

"As the second middle Eastern war drives the world economy toward another crisis, Japan decides to invade Indonesia in search of a new source of oil. Meanwhile, Hesung - the leader of the Korean-Japanese teenage mob, gets caught on camera by an NHK reporter as he murders the leader of a Yakuza boss on the streets on Tokyo. " -- CPM Nambul War Stories Volume-1 Page

Review

Nambul War Stories can be broken down into three separate stories/plots that run parallel to each other and share many common elements.

First, we have the story of our main character Hae-Sung. He is the leader of the "Korean Dogs" street gang and is for all intents and purposes an all around street rebel who is constantly getting in trouble. Much of the story is told from his perspective and revolves around the different situations he's involved with. Despite appearances Hae-Sung's life is not one devoid of anything that doesn't involve violence, in fact it would seem his violent side is the direct result of everything else that’s wrong in his world such as his father, who's extremely strict and unforgiving, his attraction to his brother’s ex-girlfriend (whom he left to then get married to a Japanese woman) and last but not least his brother, who is extremely wealthy and well respected in high-powered Japanese financial circles.

The second story we follow is that of a large scale military conflict that’s brewing over oil rights. After Saddam Hussein re-invades Kuwait oil prices sky rocket around the world. Looking to avoid long term problems as well as regaining the country’s historic military and economic might Japan decides to capture Indonesian oil deposits, however matters get complicated when it is discovered that several Korean nationals are residents of the facilities being invaded. From there on all hell breaks loose and political tensions reach an all time high between Japan, Korea and several other countries that see Japan’s actions as a hostile military action against a sovereign nation.

The third story or more properly the third plot or theme to be explored within this book is the antagonism that exists between the Korean and Japanese cultures. This is a theme that is explored in a variety of ways and embedded into the two more pronounced storylines such as the marriage between Hae-Sung’s brother and a Japanese national and the racial tensions that erupt as the war becomes more visible throughout the world stage.

Unlike most of the book reviewed for this section of the site Nambul War Stories has its basis in the real world and relies on many political and cultural overtones that help add several layers of complexity to the main story and the many subplots that exist within it. This alone made for an interesting read, but when mixed with the unique set of characters it was much more attention grabbing.

Hae-Sung, as the book’s main protagonist does an amazing job as the glue that ties together the political/economic/cultural elements of the real world with what’s happening on the more basic street level of life. He seems to represents the “escape from cultural victimization” that Hyun Se Lee talks about in the book’s notes section. He has both the leadership and the drive to lead his fellow country men in a rebellious movement on the streets of Japan as a fearless gang leader while at the same time embracing his culture and pushing it forth proudly. This is beautifully tied to many of the global events that unfold later on in this book and much further still in the following volume.

His brother, Yusung, is in a variety of ways the same character as Hae-Sung. Driven and resourceful he is as his brother, respected, looked up to for leadership and intelligent. The major difference between them is that Yusung represents a weaker embracement towards his homeland and culture, which is best represented by the fact that he married a Japanese national and abandoned his Korean girlfriend at the same time that he adopted the fast paced Japanese corporate lifestyle.

This contrast between the two brothers set against the deteriorating political landscape in the world stage added up to a really fascinating read. I was hesitant at first when I saw how big the book was, but once I started it I had to finish the entire thing. It is an interesting study into the human psyche and the way we see the world from one perspective versus another and how that sometimes translates into conflict and misunderstandings.

Adding to the power of the book’s story is the amazing artwork by Hyun Se Lee. The drawings which sometimes go from being powerfully raw depictions of violence to more comical caricatures and everything in between are eye-catching and richly detailed. The characters designs, which I didn’t care too much when I started the book, grew on me after a while and proved to be more engaging than I could have expected from this type of book as somehow Lee is able to infuse them with a lot of emotion and the power to project to us what they are feeling.

The book itself is nicely put together in typical CPM press fashion. The front cover is very powerful, featuring a soldier wearing a gas mask who's standing atop a dark/dramatic background as his visors reflect a reddish mushroom cloud on them. The inside pages are well reproduced with no real issues that I could pick up on. In addition to the main story we also get some character introductions, author notes, and the writers/artist’s biography.

Conclusion

Controversial and sometimes raw Nambul War Stories proved to be a solid read from beginning to end. After I put this book down I started reading the second volume almost immediately, which I think speaks highly of the quality of the story.

If you’re easily offended by the historical context that this book plays off of or are not in the market for a more serious read this one is not for you. Everyone else, this is a really good Manhwa title to check out!

Jeffrey Couto