Happy Mama’s Day to all the lovely mothers out there in the world! Those of you wanting an actual comic will have to wait until next week. Until then, you can all enjoy my silly gift to my very own mother.
If you have yet to wish your mother (or anyone that was like a mother) a joyous day, GET TO IT. It’s not too late for those of you with family on the other side of the world! If you have already done so, feel free to stick around and read this awkwardly long story about the most amazing woman in my life.
When I was little, my mother was my world. She was the main reason why I even started drawing. For the majority of my toddler years, this woman was my muse. I still cringe to think about how many times I drew her as a fairy/angel queen that suffered from a terrible case of lopsided head with a side of tiny legs.
When I got a little older, our relationship got rather interesting…so to speak. From the time my father left to when I eventually moved away (and a bit after), our favorite hobby was apparently to challenge each other on everything. Looking back, I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to raise two children while trying to survive in a country that was far from home. I’m sure having a punk daughter with dreams that didn’t guarantee any sort of financial stability didn’t help with the stress factor.
In Korea, my mother was a beautiful (still is!), college educated woman that had all sorts of lucrative job opportunities available to her. In America, she was lucky to get a job cleaning houses. At some point, her family had tried to convince her to leave her children at an orphanage and come back to a good life in Korea. Thinking back to how things were back then, I can’t say I would have blamed her if she decided to go with that option. Instead, my mother chose to stay stubborn (a trait I seem to have inherited) and paid off our house, car, medical bills (without health insurance), and everything else all on her own (she apparently was unaware of how child support worked).
Now that I’ve gotten a little older, I’m finding out that my mother has always been one of my biggest sources of inspiration. Whenever things get difficult, I think back to how she worked herself to the bone with a smile, and how she eventually came to own multiple businesses despite her obviously bad (and adorable) English. Thanks to her, I’ve learned what true strength is, as well as how amazing a mother’s love can actually be. Should I ever choose to produce offspring of my own, I can only hope to be as much of a bad ass as she is.
어머니 사랑해요!
On a random note, I assure you my mom is a LOT prettier in real life than she is in this strange depiction of her. Even at her age, she’s so much more beautiful than I could ever hope to be. SIGH.
 This is Jen Lee. She likes to draw. |
Got any questions, comments, or maybe even some delicious cookies you want to send through the internet? Feel free to contact us at dearkoreacomic at gmail dot com. You can also leave comments on the comic’s Facebook Page! |