Cartoonist known as the godfather of Korean comic cartoons, creator of Kkeobeongi and Sunakjil Yeosa
| Life | 1930 ~ 2010 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 해평 길씨 |
Gil Chang-deok (1930-2010) was a cartoonist born in Seoncheon, North Pyeongan, of the Haepyeong Gil clan. He worked as a railway station employee before the Korean War, went south alone during the January 4 retreat, and debuted in 1955 in the Seoul Shinmun with a strip titled Men and Women of the Not-Distant Future.
From the mid-1960s he drew cheerful cartoons for children and became known for Kkeobeongi, Jaedong-i and Sunakjil Yeosa. Kkeobeongi ran for years in magazines such as Sonyeon Joongang and was hugely popular, earning him the title godfather of Korean comic cartoons. He served as an editorial member of the JoongAng Ilbo in 1973.
Diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997, he stopped drawing; he served as an adviser to the centennial committee for Korean comics in 2009 and died on January 30, 2010. Details of his chronology differ slightly by source.
Born in Seoncheon, he went south alone during the January 4 retreat and debuted in 1955 with a newspaper strip.
Kkeobeongi, Jaedong-i and Sunakjil Yeosa are counted among his best-known works; he also drew Geobuki, Bakdal Dosa and Sinpan Bomulseom.
He stopped working after a lung cancer diagnosis in 1997 and died in January 2010.