Another tragic loss has hit the manga and manhwa community as it was announced that Solo Leveling illustrator Jang “Dubu” Sung-rak has passed away due to health complications.
The announcement of his death was made via a post on the Redice Studio official Twitter account. The post featured an obituary of Dubu in Korean which included details on his passing.
In the obituary, it was revealed that Dubu passed away due to a “sudden deterioration of health” on July 23, 2022.
Specifically, the cause of Dubu’s death was a cerebral hemorrhage. And the obituary also mentioned that Dubu suffered from some chronic illnesses during his life.
A funeral will be held for Dubu according to the wishes of his family. The funeral will be held only for the family and close acquaintances. The production team also thanked Solo Leveling readers for their continuous support.
Jang “Dubu” Sung-rak is the illustrator of the Solo Leveling manhwa which was serialized in KakaoPage in South Korea from March 2018 to December 2021. The manhwa is based on the web novel series of the same name by Chu-Gong.
Solo Leveling is arguably one of the most popular manhwas over the past couple of years. In case you’re unfamiliar, manhwa refers to South Korean comics. You can think of them as the Korean equivalent of Japanese manga.
The world of Solo Leveling features deadly monsters that hunters must face to defend humanity. The series follows Sung Jin-woo, a weak hunter who is chosen by a program called system to be its solo player.
After this, Jin-woo gains the rare ability to level up in strength. With his newfound power, Jin-woo sets out on a journey to face off against monstrous enemies and discover the secrets of the world.
The popularity of the series paved the way for the recent announcement of an anime series adaptation by A-1 Pictures that is set to release in 2023.