WHAT: Virtual exhibition and artist talk

WHO: Illustrator and author Robin Ha 

WHEN: Release: March 5 at 6:00 p.m. | On View: March 5 - 22 

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly announces K-Art at Home: Robin Ha, a new virtual exhibition and artist talk featuring art from two illustrated graphic novels by Korean American artist Robin Ha, who uniquely explores her cultural heritage and process of adaptation on a journey of finding her identity. 

Set to release March 5 on KCCDC social media video platforms, K-Art at Home: Robin Ha features highlighted scenes from two of Ha's original and vivid graphic novels: Cook Korean! and Almost American Girl, plus a recorded talk by the artist offering an inside look at her creative themes, processes, and inspirations.

Cook Korean! (2016) is a unique combination of a Korean cookbook containing 64 recipes and a light graphic novel, presented through the medium of colorful and playful comics that weave together a culinary story. In this New York Times bestseller, Ha richly illustrates the creation of popular Korean daily cuisine, including kimchi (fermented vegetables), bulgogi (grilled meats) and gimbap (rolled seaweed sheets and rice), in her own colorful and humorous way. By design, readers can easily understand the ingredients and cooking processes in order to adapt the recipes for their own homes.

Almost American Girl (2020) is a graphic novel memoir about Ha's life transition from Korea to America and the struggle to find a new identity amid a sea of cultural change. Ha shares not only her personal experiences, including the bond between mother and daughter, but insights into how she navigated a new landscape of cultural diversity in search of her ethnic identity as Korean American. Almost American Girl was selected as a Walter Honor Book by the Walter Awards in 2021.

K-Art at Home: Robin Ha presents one artist's vivid encounters with the abundance of cultural diversity that defines everyday American life. Using her creative process as a meditative and expressive medium for this journey, Ha invites viewers to glimpse inside her own distinct cultural identity as a Korean American artist.

K-Art at Home: Robin Ha releases on March 5 at 6:00 p.m. with artist talk video on the KCCDC YouTube channel (@Koreaculturedc) and on IGTV (@Koreaculturedc).

About the Artist 

Robin Ha (She/her) is a Korean American cartoonist based in Washington DC. She is the author and the illustrator of Almost American Girl, a 2021 Walter Award honoree memoir, and Cook Korean!: A Comic Book With Recipes, a New York Times bestselling cookbook graphic novel. Robin Ha grew up reading and drawing comics in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States at age fourteen. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she moved to New York City and worked in the fashion industry for several years before diving into comics. Her work has been published in independent comic anthologies as well as in the pages of Marvel Comics and Heavy Metal Magazine. She is currently working on her third graphic novel inspired by the Korean folklore of Gumiho. For more, information please visit the artist’s website. 

Artist Statement

Robin Ha has been an avid reader of comics since she was introduced to them by her mother as a young girl in South Korea. She shares her interests in food, art, travel and storytelling with the world through comics. Her first two graphic novels, Cook Korean!: A Comic Book With Recipes, and Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir reflect her background as a Korean American immigrant. She strives to make comics that are entertaining and also empowering the readers to become more accepting of themselves and others.

About the Books

Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir 

- Harvey Award Nominee, Best Children or Young Adult Book  

- Walter Honor Book, Teen Category 

- A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life—perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo.  

For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So, when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated.  

Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother. Then, one day, Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined. 

This nonfiction graphic novel with four starred reviews is an excellent choice for teens and accelerated tween readers, both for independent reading and units on immigration, memoirs, and the search for identity. Publisher information at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/almost-american-girl-robin-ha.   

Cook Korean!: A Comic Book With Recipes 

- New York Times bestseller 

- A charming introduction to the basics of Korean cooking in graphic novel form, with 64 recipes, ingredient profiles, and more, presented through light-hearted comics. 

Fun to look at and easy to use, this unique combination of cookbook and graphic novel is the ideal introduction to cooking Korean cuisine at home. Robin Ha’s colorful and humorous one-to three-page comics fully illustrate the steps and ingredients needed to bring more than sixty traditional (and some not-so-traditional) dishes to life. In these playful but exact recipes, you’ll learn how to create everything from easy kimchi (mak kimchi) and soy garlic beef over rice (bulgogi dupbap) to seaweed rice rolls (gimbap) and beyond. Friendly and inviting, Cook Korean! is perfect for beginners and seasoned cooks alike. 

Each chapter also includes personal anecdotes and cultural insights from Ha, providing an intimate entry point for those looking to try their hand at this cuisine. Publisher information at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/252746/cook-korean-by-robin-ha/.