“I will give you an interest that you will not be able to resist without laughing.”
Korea's first newspaper-published four-panel comic strip restored after 100 years!
A monumental work that transcends the history of comics and encompasses cultural history, modern history, and the history of journalism.
A comical romantic adventure and satire of current affairs that portrays the reality of Koreans in colonial times.
A hit that comforts and excites with lighthearted laughter and refreshing emotions!

《Mongteongguri》 is Korea's first four-panel cartoon serialized in a newspaper.
Today, 100 years after the serialization began, the KAIST Digital Humanities Research Team has jointly authored this work, discovering and restoring the original text through deep learning technology and thorough research, combining data science and the humanities.

This work is centered around the tall Choi Mong-ttong, the only son of a wealthy family in Chungcheong Province, a man who is "straightforward in everything and lives only for one day," his best friend and cunning "little brother" Yoon Baram, and the "pretty" Pyongyang gisaeng Shin Ok-mae, whom Choi Mong-ttong falls in love with at first sight.
Consisting of 744 episodes and 12 series, this work is full of bizarre events and outlandish ideas, and cheerfully captures the joys and sorrows of life.
Additionally, the satire and mockery of Japan's colonial rule unfolds like a lighthearted sitcom, providing readers with laughter and refreshment.

As the series progresses, it goes beyond a light comic strip, and naturally incorporates satire criticizing the oppressive colonial rule of the Japanese Government-General of Korea into Choi Meng-teng's nonsensical jokes and actions. This provides comfort and hearty laughter to the Korean people who were suffering from poverty and the sorrow of losing their country.

《The Fool》 captures the changes and conflicts in Korean society in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the raw colonial reality, unedited by the ideologies or preconceptions of historical writers.
It also includes old vocabulary that is not commonly used now and popular expressions from the time, allowing you to experience the life and culture of Koreans during the colonial period 100 years ago.
《The Fool》 is more than just a simple comic book; it has value as a cultural and historical record that captures the joys and sorrows of the people of that time, as well as their social context.

The "Idiot" series consistently features Japanese police officers reacting neurotically to crowds and cracking down excessively.
This reflects the historical background of the Japanese colonial period, when the Japanese police feared the Korean independence movement and enforced oppressive control.
In particular, after the March 1st Movement, the Japanese police strengthened security and banned all events around March 1st every year.
Even in the 1930s, more than a decade later, newspaper articles related to police emergency alerts continued to appear.
At the time, Japanese police were on high alert for several days before March 1st, monitoring social groups, and conducting activities such as going to schools, confiscating books, and searching lodging facilities.
In "The Silent One," the commotion of the "Manse" by the idiot and the Ok-mae over the course of 10 episodes is comically depicted as the sleeping chief jumps out and becomes tense, and the police officers are flustered due to a lack of communication among themselves.
The following year, in episode 84 of the serial "Love Life" (dated March 5, 1925), there is a scene where the police, startled by the sight of a idiot loitering around the police station, dispatch the "March 1st Emergency Vigilance Team."

---From "Modern History in the Idiot's Eyes: The March 1st Emergency Response Team and the Manse Movement"

Gisaengs were the subjects of fashion and objects of desire until their decline with the advent of new entertainment spaces such as schoolgirls, waitresses, and cafes.
Contemporary newspaper articles and literary works often feature stories of love between a modern boy who already had a wife through early marriage and a gisaeng, and the resulting love affair and death.
In episode 65 of “Love Life,” when Myeong-ttong asks Ok-mae if she has a wife in the countryside, “Do you have a wife in the country or not?”, there is a scene where Myeong-ttong mumbles and cannot give a clear answer.


If a parasite like Ok-mae was the only woman to appear from “The Hwaseong Mulgeogi” to the latter half of “Love Life,” a new type of woman appears in episode 152.
These women, whom the fool calls "beauties," are "new women" who wear tresses (also called "sheep's hair" in the comics), short skirts that slightly reveal their calves, and heeled shoes.
These women said to the Okmae gang, “Oh, you’re so rude.
“Does that parasite not even recognize a noblewoman?” (Episode 154) He openly looks down on parasites and expresses his displeasure.
Through the division and conflict between the 'old woman' represented by the parasite and the educated 'new woman', we can get a glimpse into the social conditions of the time when tradition and modernity were competing and in conflict.

---From "Modern History in the Idiots: New Women and Gisaengs"

'Self-sufficiency' was a creed put into practice in daily life during the movement to promote domestic products, which was launched in the 1920s to foster economic power in the face of Japan's economic invasion.
It was meant to reject foreign products and “let’s live with products made in our country,” but it can also be interpreted to mean “let’s earn our own living.”
It is pitiful to see the rich, rascally, idiot, restaurant owner, traffic policeman, Seolleongtang deliveryman, and actor struggling to support themselves by surrendering to the harsh currents of the times.


You can get a glimpse into the food culture of the time through episodes experienced while 'experiencing' the typical common people's occupations, such as a restaurant owner and a Seolleongtang deliveryman.
In the traffic police episode, the 'Great Flood of 1888', which is recorded as the most tragic natural disaster in modern Korean history, appears, and through it, satire and mockery of public authority, represented by the police, are expressed.

---From "A Rich Man's Commoner Job Experience: [Self-Employment]"

The first modern transportation system created in Korea was based on the principle of right-hand driving.
Unlike the Joseon Dynasty, where priority in traffic was generally determined by social status, the traffic law (Korean Empire Police Department Ordinance No. 2, Road Management Regulations), first implemented in 1906, stipulates that “both sides should give way to each other by turning to the right.”
This principle was maintained for more than 10 years, despite being contrary to the Japanese government's left-hand driving regulations.


However, the Government-General suddenly announced on December 1, 1921 that Korea's road traffic rules would be changed to left-hand driving, like Japan.
To further the cause, a farce was staged in which firefighters and off-duty police officers acted as promotional assistants by singing "Keep on the Left" on the streets.
'Left-side traffic' signs were posted on trams, rickshaws, and other vehicles, and a large left-side traffic tower was erected in front of the Hanseong Main Police Station (now the Seoul Central Police Station).
Therefore, in the early 1920s, the main job of traffic police was to enforce right-hand driving.
Reflecting this, in the [Self-made] series, there are frequent scenes where a idiot who has become a police officer shouts “Drive on the left.”
In particular, we can vividly see the confused reactions of people at the time to the traffic system through episodes such as the one where left-hand traffic is emphasized even in the chaotic situation caused by the Eulchuk flood (episode 34) and the scene where children tease the idiot police officer for driving on the right (episode 26).
Because the Government-General of Korea forcibly pushed for left-hand traffic using police force, left-hand traffic was considered a "remnant of Japanese imperialism" that had to be eliminated after liberation, and right-hand traffic for vehicles was fully implemented in April 1946, and right-hand traffic for pedestrians was fully implemented in July 2010.

---From "Modern History in Idiots_Left-Hand Traffic"