“Dad has gone on a long journey”: Uproar over ‘Heo Young-man obituary’ circulating on social media—turns out it was a misunderstanding

[Financial News] A ‘fake obituary’ for 79-year-old cartoonist Heo Young-man caused a stir online.
On the 7th, a post titled ‘Obituary: Cartoonist Heo Young-man Has Passed Away’ spread widely, particularly on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Threads. The post read, “To those who loved Dad,” and “Dad has gone on a long journey.”
The post could have been mistaken for one written by Heo Young-man’s daughter, but it was actually an obituary for someone else, not the cartoonist. Confusion arose when it was mistakenly circulated as though it were Heo Young-man’s obituary.
The obituary did not even mention Heo’s name, and once it became clear that the report of his death was false, the incident was put down to a misunderstanding. In fact, as of now, neither Heo Young-man nor his daughter has posted anything of note about an obituary on social media.
In June, news that Heo had been hospitalized for a month following a fall saddened many people.
At the time, Heo Young-man’s representatives told News1, “Heo Young-man recently fell and was injured, and at one point had to be transferred to the intensive care unit,” adding, “He is currently hospitalized and recovering.” They went on to explain, “He has been hospitalized for about a month, but his condition is not extremely serious,” and “He is currently focused on treatment and recovery.”
Because of these health issues, TV CHOSUN’s “Heo Young-man’s Food Travel,” which he had appeared on since May 2019, also ended, bringing its seven-year run to a close.
Meanwhile, cartoonist Heo Young-man, born in 1947, made his debut in the comics industry in 1974 after winning the New Cartoonist Contest hosted by Boys’ Korea Daily. He went on to establish himself as a leading cartoonist in South Korea with works including “Gaksital,” “The 7th Team,” “Oh! Han River,” “Fly! Superboard,” “Beat,” “Tazza,” and “Gourmet.”
[email protected] Kim Hee-seon Reporter