Abstract

This article aims to examine the representation patterns of daily violence in ilsangtoon (daily comics), focusing on Danji and 27-10; it also questions the sympathy of readers, who have been taken for granted in discussions on ilsangtoon. It seems that “everyday life” and “the reader’s sympathy” are two main elements that structure methods of reading ilsangtoon. Influenced by the “feminism reboot,” the political implications of self-representation of everyday life have begun to be discussed in research on ilsangtoon. However, “sympathy” based on a “similarity of experiences” has never been questioned. The essay first discusses the relationship between experiences of violence with the subject and self-representation in Danji and 27-10. The second part discusses the reader’s sympathy. This article notes that readers are divided into two different groups: a group composed of those who share the experience of violence and a group who do not. The sympathy of readers who share experiences is a combination of discovering acts and speech acts within a circle of testimony. The sympathy of the other group of readers is explained as “not identical” and as taking responsibility for solidarity. This article is an attempt to establish the ethics of “sympathy” and the political potential of ilsangtoon.