Who is KIM Jung Gi ?

If you don’t know him yet, I’ll take a chance and try to describe him in one sentence: he is simply one of the best graphic artists in the world!

Okay, but what allows me to say this, when there is so much talent to be found in every corner of the Internet? Simple: it is because of artists themselves! KIM Jung Gi is greatly admired by all graphic artists worldwide that know him or know of him, and he has an avid and loyal fan base across Korea, Japan, China, Europe and throughout North and South America.

You see, KIM Jung Gi has an incredible memory: anything he sees, he’s able to draw without any visual aid. Whether he’s doing a quick sketch on the corner of a table or a several feet long mural, he doesn’t need to do any preparatory work because everything is laid out in his head. His ability to include the most infinitesimal details with exquisite precision is jaw dropping. Whatever the angle, his illustrations are always perfect; his knowledge of human and animal anatomy is incredible!

His exceptional talent gets him invited all over the world to perform “Drawing Shows”, in which he draws live and in front of a crowd. But rather than tell you, let me show you, you’ll understand what I mean!

On top of that, he’s super nice and not autistic (yes, I’ve often been asked that…). So, what more could you ask for? (In my case: to have his talent…)

Jean-Christophe Caurette

 

fresque by Kim Jung Gi

Drawing of Kim Jung Gi for Blizzard

Biography

KIM Jung Gi – let’s clear things out right away: KIM is his family name 🙂 – is a Korean artist born in 1975, in Goyang-Si, which is situated in the province of Kyongki-Do (South Korea). He was 19 when he entered the Fine Arts School, where he majored in “Art & Design”. He studied three years at Dong-Eui university in Busan, on the South East coast of Korea. This school is famous for its technical courses, but the 23 000 students that studied alongside him may also have provided good material to feed his inspiration! Like every man in Korea, he served in the army for over 2 years. He was in the Special Forces, which allowed him to memorize an amazing number of vehicles and weapons.

Funny Funny, KIM Jung Gi’s first publication, was published in the magazine Young Jump. Several short stories and a few exhibitions later, KIM Jung Gi –or KJG for short– started to teach manwha (Korean comic book) in universities and private schools.

Between 2008 and 2010, he drew the 6 volumes of TLT, Tiger the Long Tail, which was written by Seung-Jin PARK. This story first existed as a ‘webtoon’ – an online comic, which explains the unusual composition of the pages. TLT was later published in printed form by CNC Revolution. KIM Jung Gi went on to illustrate two novels written by the French author Bernard WERBER : “Paradise” (in 2010) and “Third Humanity” (2013)

Cover of the sketchbook edited in 2018
Doodle
Cover of Hit Girl

KJG personally has seven sketchbooks currently published , which came out in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2022 respectively. These, when gathered together, contain nearly 5 000 pages full of drawings. In 2017, he united his astonishing talent with the world renowned Japanese artist, KATSUYA Terada, publishing a spectacular sketchbook that shows off their mutual giant talents.

He has twice collaborated with the famous French comic writer, Jean-David Morvan; once for SpyGames, (published in French in 2014 by les Editions Glénat) and most recently illustrating McCurry, NYC, 9/11, published in 2016 by les Editions Dupuis for the French version, and by Caurette Editions for the English version. McCurry, NYC, 9/11,  is the first published biography of  the world famous photographer and journalist  Steve McCURRY –  his work includes the now iconic National Geographic cover of the Afghan Girl with the captivating green eyes – as he witnessed the  unforgettable scenes of 9/11 unfold before him.
He has also worked with several video game companies and collaborated on various comics in the USA (Flash, Civil War II …) or Europe (Kiliwatch, Caurette Editions) as cover artist.

KJG has displayed his work in many countries, galleries (Maghen in Paris, Scott Eder in New York, Murakami Takashi’s ‘GEISEI x Infinity in Japan…) and museums (Penang, Malaysia). He is in the Guinness World Records, in the Illustration category under “Longest drawing by an individual”, a record he broke doing Fisheye art!

Kim Jung Gi unfortunately passed away in Paris, Oct. 3rd 2022, as he was ready to board a plane and fly to attend the New York Comic Con.

We miss him dearly.