Posted in: Comics | Tagged: ai, Monggeuli, South Korea, Webtoon
A South Korean dictator grandson has used AI to creates a webtoon comic book about his trauma, as an abused sheep called Monggeuli
Article Summary
Jeon Woo-won, dictator’s grandson, creates AI webtoon Monggeuli to reveal his family’s dark secrets.
The AI-generated webtoon chronicles Jeon’s traumatic childhood marked by abuse and isolation.
Controversy surrounds the use of generative AI in comics, raising issues around art theft and copyright.
Korea’s webtoon and AI industries boom, with new platforms and titles fueling the creative debate.
In a move that’s equal parts confessional therapy, comic storytelling, and world-baiting, Jeon Woo-won, the grandson of South Korea’s infamous former president and military dictator, Jeon Doo-hwan, launched his memoirs as an AI-drawn webtoon on Instagram, which he has now deleted. Titled around its fluffy sheep protagonist “Monggeuli,” this AI-assisted series is spilling family secrets like a K-drama gone rogue, blending personal pain with cartoonish allegory.
Jeon Doo-hwan was the military strongman who ruled South Korea from 1980 to 1988, notorious for his role in the brutal suppression of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980, which left hundreds dead. His legacy remains a contentious topic in Korean politics and culture, frequently resurfacing in media such as films and documentaries. Now, his own grandson is flipping the script with a webtoon that casts the family in sheep’s clothing – literally.
Jeon Woo-won, who previously made headlines in 2023 for whistleblowing on alleged drug use within his family, kicked off the series on the 4th of December 4, as Monggeuli, a clear stand-in for Jeon himself, dives into a lonely and isolated childhood, marked by family conflicts, physical abuse and emotional turmoil. Episodes reveal his father’s affair leading to a divorce, his mother’s battles with multiple cancers, and the unwanted exile to study abroad, where he faced bullying and ostracism. Grandpa Jeon Doo-hwan appears as a “black sheep,” symbolising the dark shadow over the family. The series doesn’t shy away from anecdotes involving the late president, painting a picture of generational trauma amid wealth and power.
Jeon Woo-won framed Monggeuli as a way to process his experiences, with the sheep motif adding a layer of innocence to the harsh realities, in short, episodic strips perfect for scrolling. The artwork was entirely generated by A.I., which sparked its own controversy, even in a culture where A.I. is more widely accepted for its creative applications. The vast majority of generative A.I. is a result of engines stealing art and artworks, usually from illegally pirated block files, which has led to lawsuits being launched worldwide. And has seen a drop in demand for the work of real artists.
The story has been picked up by major news outlets in South Korea. The series has been taken down, but the screenshots are widely available online. It was a heady AI year for Korea and comic books, with Toptoon recently releasing many AI-generated animated titles on their English platform Toptoon Plus, the president of the Webtoon Association and Bucheon City council meeting to discuss the necessity of establishing an AI-webtoon creation platform, and Soosung Webtoon announcing a follow-up to their AI-webtoon Draco-Knight Commander with more titles for the global market for next year.
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