Who was Kim Jung Gi? Tributes pour in as acclaimed Korean visual artist passes away at 47

Well-known cartoonist Kim Jung Gi passed away on October 3 at the age of 47. The cause of his death was said to be a heart attack.

His frequent collaborator Hyun Jin Kim stated that Jung Gi was in Paris at the time of his death. He added that Gi was at the airport when he experienced chest pain and was taken to a nearby hospital for surgery. However, the artist passed away.

Daniel Maghen Gallery also posted an exhibition of Jung Gi's work and revealed the news of his death. They stated that his sudden demise has left everyone speechless.

Upon Jung Gi's family's request, Daniel Maghen Gallery said that their exhibition will remain open until October 8.

Everything about Kim Jung Gi

Born in 1975, Kim Jung Gi was from Goyang-Si in the province of Kyongki-Do, South Korea. He joined a Fine Arts School when he was 19 and majored in Art and Design.

Jung Gi then enrolled at Dong-Eui University and later was in the South Korean army in the Special Forces Unit for two years. He memorized several weapons and vehicles. He gained recognition for his memory throughout his career and he could remember complicated scenes without any help.

His first publication was titled Funny Funny and was published in Young Jump magazine. He wrote many short stories, organized exhibitions, and collaborated with Seung-Jin Park, the writer of Tiger the Long Tail. Jung worked with the French author Bernard Werber and illustrated two of his novels – Paradise and Third Humanity.

Kim Jung Gi participated in the Comic Festival at Bucheon in 2011. He drew live at the event and placed a piece of paper on three walls around the table and began drawing. The process was recorded on video by Superani CEO Hyun Jin Kim and posted on YouTube, leading to invitations from other events.

The artist was invited to perform in France, America, and other Asian countries. He had six sketchbooks with 4,500 pages of drawings in the last 12 years. He collaborated with popular Japanese artist Katsuya Terada in 2017 and they created a sketchbook of different drawings.

Jung Gi worked in other industries like movies, music, and government. He held the record for Longest Drawing by an Individual in the Guinness World Records.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Kim Jung Gi gained recognition in all these years for his flawless work. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise.

Jung Gi's survivors include his wife and two kids, whose identities remain unknown.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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