Woo-won Chun, the 29-year-old grandson of former South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan, has transformed his pain into digital art and, since December 4, 2025, has been publishing episodes of a webtoon based on his childhood memories. The story, which already has 14 chapters, is posted on his Instagram account and uses a powerful symbolic narrative to portray the emotional and physical suffering he claims to have experienced within his own family. This account gains global relevance not only for exposing the wounds of an heir but for tearing the veil off one of South Korea’s most controversial political dynasties, whose patriarch is widely seen as a dictator responsible for violent repressions.
In the work, Woo-won represents himself as a white lamb named “Monggeuli,” while his family members are portrayed as black sheep with red eyes and horns, living in an icy fortress that symbolizes the family mansion in Seoul. Through this allegory, he details scenes of abuse, including one in which his grandfather assaults him during a long car trip. Furthermore, the webtoon addresses deep family conflicts, such as his father Jae-yong Chun’s extramarital affair with an actress while Woo-won’s mother was battling cancer. In this way, the artistic project becomes a public act of reckoning with a troubled past.
A past that does not silence
Woo-won Chun’s decision to use a webtoon, an immensely popular format in South Korea, is not an isolated chapter in his life. In 2023, he had already shocked the country by publicly calling his grandfather a “mass murderer” and promising to reveal the family’s crimes. That same year, the young man received a suspended prison sentence for drug-related charges, an episode that also tarnished his trajectory. However, despite his own legal problems, his voice emerges as a dark counterpoint to the official narrative about his grandfather’s legacy, who ruled the country with an iron fist between 1980 and 1988.
Meanwhile, the suspicion raised by local media that the artwork is generated by artificial intelligence adds a modern layer to an old family drama. If confirmed, the technique would show how contemporary digital tools can serve to give voice to historical traumas. The case raises questions about how far the wounds of an authoritarian regime can extend through generations, turning art into a vehicle for denunciation and survival. Therefore, more than just a simple comic, Woo-won Chun’s webtoon is a psychological and political document that resonates with anyone who understands the weight of a difficult family inheritance.
