Recently we had a post about a shockingly antisemitic South Korean comic book; we’re pleased to report that the Los Angeles Korean-American community is just as outraged as we were. They’re planning a protest against the publisher of the comic, and have expressed their disgust over the matter to the South Korean consulate.

Anti-Semitic cartoons spur L.A. Korean outrage.

LOS ANGELES – Korean-American community leaders said they plan to launch a protest against the publisher of a popular South Korean comic book that contains anti-Semitic images. “I don’t have words to describe the outrage I feel,” said Yohngsohk Choe, co-chairman of the Korean American Patriotic Action Movement in the USA.

The group met Friday with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Cooper said he would travel to Seoul on March 15 to raise concerns about the book. The book was written by South Korean university professor Lee Won-bok. It is part of a series of comics, called “Distant Countries and Neighboring Countries,” that tries to teach youngsters about other countries. The series has sold more than 10 million copies.

One comic strip in the book shows a man climbing a hill and then facing a brick wall with a Star of David and STOP sign in front. “The final obstacle to success is always a fortress called Jews,” a translation says.

Another strip shows a newspaper, magazine, TV and radio with the description: “In a word, American public debate belongs to the Jews, and it’s no exaggeration to say that U.S. media are the voice of the Jews.”

Cooper, who learned of the book from bloggers in Seoul, said some of the cartoons “echo classic Nazi canards” by “recycling various Jewish conspiracies.” He called on the publisher to “carefully review the slanders in this book that historically have led to anti-Semitic violence and genocide” and “consider providing facts about the Jewish people, our religion and values to young Koreans.”

Korean-American community leaders said they were disgusted by the images and would speak to officials at South Korea’s consulate in Los Angeles and in Seoul. “They have the potential to harm good relationships we have established with our Jewish-American neighbors in Los Angeles,” Choe said of the images.

Eun-Ju Park, chief executive of Seoul publisher Gimm-Young, said in an e-mail that the author sent an apology to Charles Kim, national president of the Los Angeles-based Korean-American Coalition. Park wrote that she would look into the matter “more closely and correct what needs to be corrected.”