Manhwa Moveable Feast: The Color of Earth
The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa
Published by: First Second
320 (306) pages.
Original Language: Korean
Orientation: Left to Right
Vintage: 2003. US edition Mar. 2009.
Translation: Lauren Na
Adaptation, Lettering, and Design by uncredited staff.
No publisher’s age rating was given, but I’d put it at 13+ (for this first volume) assuming the kid knows where babies come from and can handle brief nudity in context.
isbn 9781596434585
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Two more notes on the publication history of The Color of Earth: according to the publishing info at the front of the book, the original title (as credited in the copyright notice) is “The Story of Life on the Golden Fields, vol. 1”. Also, First Second negotiated English translation rights directly with the author — by itself, not that unusual for books, but I note it because of how it differs from most US manga publication.
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The Color of Earth is a depiction of small village life in a pre-war Korea — likely pre-1910, though it’s hard to put an exact date on the book. If the author’s forward is to be believed (“little gems from my mother’s life at sixteen”) then this is Korea (or at least a small part of it) from just four and maybe three generations ago, which doesn’t quite jibe either. Modes of dress are traditional, though the use of patterned textiles by residents in a rural Korean village points to cheap, imported, machine produced cloth — so sometime after 1800, and probably before 1895. The existence of things like steam rail but the lack of war or politics points to a very narrow range: 1885-1895. One might also consider some later dates, but to go as far as 1910 without any mention of Japanese occupation or international politics—even in a rural village— would be remiss. [these historical details may be in later volumes, but a cursory glance through both didn’t reveal any]
Granted, this is far, far from a historical account. The Color of Earth is soaked in nostalgia, perhaps, for a simpler time and views village life through a widescreen, rose-colored Cinemascope lens:
The book is beautiful, in it’s depiction of nature
and other key detail, like the simple but obviously crafted buildings, or the aforementioned locomotive
obviously, Kim Dong Hwa knows his way around a piece of paper, and the care taken shows in the art.
As a story though…
well, I guess that’s why we review these things
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Let me start out by saying: I thought farm kids grew up with animals and the like and so had a much better idea where babies come from, what males and females tend to do to procreate the species (whatever species) and probably also have a better idea of what the block-and-tackle look like and why guys have it while girls don’t. Granted, Ehwa when first introduced is only 7, so the childish games and curious questions are part of that learning process — and her mother runs an inn, it’s not like they farm — but still I thought the first few chapters of the book were gratuitous.
If we’re telling a romance story, we start with the romance (age 16? earlier?). If this is to be a slice of life tale, I’d expect a lot more of the day-to-day, a better development of friendships, kids being kids and the like. If we’re going to explore human sexuality, I’d like to see more couples, more points of view, even more characters who better represent the whole of human nature and needs and compromises, and not just this one-note homily of waiting-and-wanting.
Wuthering Heights or other Victorian-era romance did the chaste courtship-and-marriage bit and they did it better.
At best you can credit The Color of Earth for being honest about the sex, but at worst it comes off as very crude: The boy with his hands always down his pants; Ehwa’s “friend” Bongsoon who seems to revel in highlighting all the things she knows (and has done) that (chaste, pure) Ehwa hasn’t.
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So, these kids need a sex education program, and they needed it 2 years ago.
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The book could use something, anything, to do besides having characters sit around and talk about sex and relationships in flowery metaphor. …makes me wish for a giant robot or alien invasion to turn up just so this book would have a plot…
What about a bad harvest? Or a flood? Or a government official coming to collect the overdue taxes, or an honest love-triangle for any of these characters? Not that every book needs heaping helpings of drama — there is something to be said for quiet reflection, or a slice-of-life story that isn’t about anything in particular.
However, The Color of Earth isn’t a consideration of life or the small joys to be found there; even considered as ‘one girl’s coming of age story’ this is weak sauce. The heavy and heavy-handed insistence on sex makes the book a tad depressing. There is a whole world out there, and as a child I was curious about all of it, and yet whenever Ehwa is shown walking through the countryside — the beautiful countryside, as the art in this book is quite lovely — she is always staring down at her feet, and fretting over woman’s lot in life.
The author made a choice, both to begin the story when Ehwa was only seven, and then to show only those moments in her life that had to do with her education into the ways of men and women, and the moments when she herself seemed obsessed with them. We miss out on years of her life that are not shown, and on the rest of her world, and on the opportunity to see her as a real person, and not a caricature.
The most interesting person to me is Ehwa’s mom, in that she at least has a job, a business to run, a daughter to raise, and a life – She also has a lover, who seems to care for her even if he is a wanderer who only appears infrequently. She’s a complex, rounded character —
Or at least she would be if she weren’t in the story merely to explain things to her daughter, and to fret as her daughter grows into a woman. It would also help if she had a name: in the book, she’s just “Ehwa’s mom” when referred to by others.
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The “Color Trilogy” (of which this is the first volume) is worth a bit of your time, to consider the craft that went into the art, and to gawk at the artwork itself. It’s also of note as manhwa that has received the full-on indy graphic novel treatment: First Second did a fine job packaging the books, 300+ page volumes in a larger trim size (6×8½ in.) with french flaps and uncut, deckle edge pages. These are fine, handsome volumes, and your library will look better for having them.
Even considering all my reservations about the story and characters, this is also a view into a culture that just doesn’t exist anymore. No matter how narrow the window provided, it’s still a glimpse into a time (though just a century ago) long past.
For other opinions and takes on the title, please visit the MMF Index Page for the Color Trilogy over at Manhwa Bookshelf. This is just about the last day of our week-long look into these books, so a final wrap-up is likely to post tomorrow at Melinda’s site
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A free review copy was provided [second-hand] by the publisher, via the kind offices of a friendly librarian. [thanks, Eva!]
