Ateumandu makes editorial cartoons and caricatures that layer critique, satire, affection, and humor. *Biteul News*, *The Human Encyclopedia*, NY solo *Biteul News*.
The name Artmandu resembles a mandu (dumpling).
Soft outside, many flavors inside, multiple layers felt at once in a single bite. His editorial cartoons and caricatures work the same way. Critique, satire, affection, and humor mixed in one image.
An Editorial Cartoonist From Hongik Printmaking
Artmandu graduated from Hongik University's printmaking department and its graduate school.
Work begun in print extended into caricature and editorial cartoon. In 2022 he published Artmandu's Goal: Bang-gu (防口) (Hangilsa), and in 2025 Artmandu's Biteul News (Butgwapen). Both titles carry a sharp humor. Bang-gu (防口) is the Hanja phrase to block mouths; Biteul News is twisted news. The essential work of editorial cartooning as the title itself.
From Singapore to Saint-Just-le-Martel
His awards and exhibitions carry an international grain.
- 2019 The Brandlaureate World Bestbrands Awards 2019 — Personal Artist category. October 31, Shangri-La Singapore Tower Ballroom.
- 2021 SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival) Comics Section Merit Award, Seoul.
Recent group shows include 2025's International Satirical Cartoon Exhibition — The Eyes of East Asia at Saitama Media Tower, Tokyo; Korean Sallatist Association Exhibition — 120th Anniversary of Korea–Belgium Diplomatic Relations Korean Cartoon Special Show at the Korean Cultural Centre Belgium; and France's International Editorial Cartoon Salon of Saint-Just-le-Martel. He continues to appear on the international salon stage of editorial cartooning.
The Human Encyclopedia, and New York
The most symbolic among his solos is the 2022 Artmandu's The Human Encyclopedia at the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency's Exhibition Hall 2, Bucheon. The title itself names the ultimate destination of his caricature: records of individual faces stacked until they become an encyclopedia of faces of an era.
The same year, a caricature invitational The People We Loved opened at Chicago's Albany Park Public Library, followed by nine other solos.
In February 2026, a Biteul News solo opened at Born Star Rocks Gallery in New York. A Korean editorial cartoonist holding a solo at a New York gallery. A site that re-asks the boundary between cartooning and fine art.
And in May 2026, a month-long new solo Bap is scheduled at Gallery Thought Box in Gwangju. From New York to Gwangju, an editorial cartoonist is walking the map of two solos within the same year.
Caricature 戰
The word Caricature 戰 (war) repeats in his solo titles. 戰 means war. A declaration that caricature is not merely play but a fight. In 2022, two caricature 戰 exhibitions continued — 耳塞奇異 (Earsbook Oddity) and Lower Your Eyes. Classic subjects of editorial cartooning: shutting ears and avoiding eyes.
Director Yeon Sang-ho and Portrait
Two SAF 2026 works, both digital prints.
- Director Yeon Sang-ho — digital print, 42×30 cm, 2024
- Portrait — digital print, 40×40 cm, 2025
Director Yeon Sang-ho moves the director of Train to Busan and Hellbound into caricature. A film director's face interpreted once more by the cartoonist's hand and placed onto the surface. Portrait is a face without a specified name. Could be anyone, yet no one in particular.
The Opposite of Bang-gu
84.9% of Korean artists are excluded from institutional finance. Sales of works by SAF-exhibiting artists cycle into a mutual-aid fund, returning as low-interest loans to fellow artists.
If his book title Goal: Bang-gu meant to block mouths, SAF is a movement in the opposite direction. Opening mouths, speaking about artists' livelihood, making a fund through action. If editorial cartoon is a way of saying what isn't said, SAF is a way of not only saying. Both are paths that resist silence.
Many Flavors in One Dumpling
As one dumpling holds many flavors, one of his caricatures holds many layers — portrait, satire, affection, record.
A SAF sale carries a similar layering. Buyer's taste, artist's livelihood, peer's loan, community's record. Many layers inside one transaction. When his digital print hangs on someone's wall, many flavors bloom on that wall at once.
Works by Artmandu
Related reading
If this piece helped, you may also enjoy these related articles:
- Preparing a Young Artist First Solo Show: A Six-Month Roadmap — A first solo show is a singular threshold in an artist's life. This guide synthesizes emerging artists' experiences into a six-month preparation roadmap.
- Four First-Time Collectors Share Their Stories — The moment of buying a first artwork is different for everyone. A first paycheck, a mother's birthday, a new home after divorce — four collectors who bought their first works through SAF tell their stories.
- Lee Yun-yop — A "Dispatched Artist," Carving the Texture of Labor in Multi-Color Woodblock — Lee Yun-yop, master of Korean multi-color woodblock. "Dispatched artist" activist, industrial rubber matting medium, farmer/worker motifs, MMCA collection — with 5 curated picks.
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Collecting Guides
Seed Art Festival
Published April 20, 2026
