Twenty three years-old and originally from Houston, Texas, Jen Lee came to Korea in 2010.  Prior to her arrival she studied Graphics Communications at the University of Houston, and she also worked for a web hosting company and lived for nine months in Japan.

Jen is comfortable using a variety of media, but the work she does today is largely digital.  Initially she worked using a mouse and Microsoft Paint, but she eventually upgraded and she now uses a tablet and multiple graphic programs as well.

“Growing up I always wanted to work with more than just pencils and paper,” Jen explained to me last week, “and more and more, as time passed, I was drawn towards working digitally.

"The reason why I like to work digitially is because it doesn't require a lot of tools.  When you're constantly on the move, that is a very important factor."

Of the many projects Jen is working on these days, she is especially concentrating on one called Dear Korea.

Dear Korea is a comic strip about Jen’s life here in Korea, and its title is inspired by an expression used by an expat friend of Jen’s when frustrated or confused by Korean mannerisms.

“Dear Korea comments upon life in Korea,” Jen explained, “and I created it because I love doing short, simple comics that readers can relate to while also having an opportunity to laugh.

“I didn’t create it to offend Koreans, expats, or anybody else, however.

“I grew up in a Korean household, and now I live in Korea, so a lot of the strip’s contents are things that I’m familiar with from my own life and my own home and within my own family.

“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m suggesting that what they do or how they think is wrong.

“The goal of the comic is simply to document mine and other’s thoughts and experiences because people’s thoughts and experiences are really interesting.

“They are worth considering and looking into more than we usually do.”

As Jen lives and works in Gwangju and continues to work towards becoming a professional artist, you can continue to enjoy her Korea-themed art on the Association of F-Class Expatriates’ Website at http://www.afek.info/dear-korea.  You can also look up ‘Dear Korea’ on Facebook, and make sure you check back here on Gwangju Blog too: Jen has promised to share some of her work with us as well!

And finally, please note: tucked in below are several more Dear Korea strips which Jen has created thus far; click on them to enlarge them and get yourself caught up to speed.