ABSTRACT
Picture books produced in South Korea or in the large Korean diaspora in the USA invite an imagological analysis because of their intense focus on identity and the social circle of contemporary society within which children are growing up, and because of the differences of emphasis between the two areas. The focus of this chapter is representations of attitudes, perceptions, and representations that shape Korean social groups. Stereotyping serves to fulfil functions in specific historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts. Because the picture books about the Korean diaspora mostly deal with a limited range of topics - minority identity within a multicultural community, the experience of migration, transnational adoption, and, rarely, postmemory of the impact of a traumatic past - they are underpinned by particular common scripts. Modality refers to the truth value or credibility of statements about, or representations of, the world.
