Professor

Áֿϼö/Joo Wan Soo

I was born in 1959, in a small traditional village near JeonJu.
I was determined to become a artist or poet since I was very young.
With many hardships I was barely able to graduate a bachelor degree in western art, Hong Ik University and a masters degree in art teaching in hanYang University.
My life as a student was very dark and gloomy. I lived doing nothing except thinking about what to do after university.
I made my first political comic <an ordinary gorilla> was drawn expecting to go to jail. This became a bestseller andwith that I pulled myself into the comic business.
For me who wanted to become an artist and a poet, drawing comics seemed to be a fitting job. However what I did in thecomic industry was only hardships. I was able to thrive with series of comic strips here and there. I also made somebooks but all in vain. Still I made a comic-only publisher, established various systems and organizations. I also waschairman of <UriManHwa community>.
And after a late studying for the masters degree, I began to teach how to draw comics from 1996.
I had lectures in various universities such as, KongJu, SunChun, Dongkang, Seajong. In HangYang and Sang Myoung I wasas an additional professor, and till now I am in this school's full time professor.
I still think my comic life to be in a progressive form. And I believe that I am young enough to handle both being a professor as well as a comic artist. As I am looking toward my fifties I began to realize what I need to do and what I could draw. I am in my sabbatical year right now and in an another country, however next year when I am to go back to school I wish to do many works with the students altogether.