Korean cartoonist Sanho wins Eisner Award, a first for Korea

Korean cartoonist Sanho has won the Eisner Award — often called the "Oscar of comics" — for the graphic novel "Yeonokdang, the Funeral Cake Shop," marking the first time a Korean creator has taken home the prize. The Eisner Award ranks among the three most prestigious international comics honors, alongside France's Angoulême International Comics Festival and the American Harvey Awards.

Comic-Con International, which organizes the Eisner Awards, announced winners in 32 categories at the 38th Will Eisner Comic Industry Award ceremony held Friday in San Diego. "Yeonokdang, the Funeral Cake Shop" was selected from five nominees in the Best US Edition of International Material–Asia category.

Established in 1988 and named after graphic novel pioneer Will Eisner, the award recognizes the best works and creators published in North America the previous year. A panel of six jurors, newly assembled each year, compiles an initial shortlist, and industry professionals then vote to determine the final winners.

The Best US Edition of International Material–Asia category honors the finest English-language North American edition of an Asian comic. Judges evaluate not only the quality of the original work but also the translation, editing and production that allow American readers to fully experience it.

The category was introduced in 2007 as a Japan-specific award before expanding to all of Asia in 2010, but it has remained a formidable barrier for non-Japanese works — every winner except 2017 has been a Japanese title. Works by prominent Japanese creators have dominated the category, including Naoki Urasawa's "20th Century Boys," Shigeru Mizuki's "Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths," Junji Ito's "Remina" and Hayao Miyazaki's "Shuna's Journey."

Several Korean works had previously been nominated — Kim Dong-hwa's "The Color of Earth" in 2010, Kim Geum-suk's graphic novel "Grass" in 2020, and Yeon Sang-ho and Choi Kyu-seok's "Hellbound" in 2023 — but none had won until now.

Published by Munhakdongne, "Yeonokdang, the Funeral Cake Shop" is a fantasy graphic novel set in a bakery that makes cakes for the dead. In its world, the deceased must cross a vast purgatorial plain over 49 days to be reincarnated, and the living visit Yeonokdang to order cakes for their departed loved ones, hoping to sustain them on the journey to the gate of rebirth. The story unfolds as an anthology of poignant tales from each customer, with the mysterious identity of Mago, the shop's owner, driving the central narrative.

The work received the Korea Creative Content Agency director's award at the Korea Content Awards, and rights have been sold to nine countries, including the United States, Taiwan, Japan, Russia, Vietnam, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine and France. The English edition was published last year by US comics publisher Dark Horse.

Sanho is a cartoonist and illustrator who began drawing comics after working on film storyboards. In 2019, a crowdfunding campaign for "Yeonokdang, the Funeral Cake Shop" on the Korean platform Tumblbug surpassed its target by more than 4,400 percent, drawing wide attention. Her works include the three-volume "Yeonokdang, the Funeral Cake Shop" as well as "Rain and Floating," "A Perfect Love Letter," "And the Witch Went Into the Forest" and "Nanani in a Glass Bottle."

"The Eisner Award weighs a work's popular appeal more heavily in its judging process than the Harvey Award, so this win means the work has been recognized as a mainstream title in the North American comics market," publisher Munhakdongne said. "This award is a remarkable achievement that demonstrates the growth of Korean comics."