Korean Publisher Withdraws Anti-Semitic Comic

A South Korean publisher agreed yesterday to withdraw a best-selling comic book from stores after Korean-American and Jewish groups complained that it spread anti-Semitic messages, The Associated Press reported. The book is part of a series called “Distant Countries and Neighboring Countries” that is intended to teach children about foreign lands; the series has sold more than 10 million copies since it began 20 years ago. A book about the United States published in 2004 blames Jews for the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and claims that Jews prevent Korean-Americans from succeeding in the United States. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, met with the author, Lee Won-bok, a professor of visual arts in South Korea, at the Seoul offices of his publisher, Gimm-Young. He showed Mr. Lee copies of Der Stürmer, a Nazi propaganda newspaper, so he could see its similarities to caricatures in the South Korean books.