REDICE Studio announced on Monday that Solo Leveling manwha artist DUBU (real name Jang Sung-Rak) passed away on July 23 due to a cerebral hemorrhage from chronic illness.
A funeral service was held with family members and close friends.
DUBU was the illustrator for the manwha adaptation of author Chugong‘s Solo Leveling novel series. The manwha launched on Webtoon services in March 2018 and ended in December 2021. Yen Press publishes the manwha and original novel series in English. The series is getting an anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures on Crunchyroll in 2023.
DUBU was the CEO of REDICE, a Korean studio that produced Webtoon adaptations of novels. REDICE also illustrated the Space Dandy and The Island of Giant Insects manga.
Update: Yen Press provided an English translation of the obituary:
On July 23rd, 2022, the artist of the Solo Leveling manhwa, Mr. Sung-rak Jang has passed away due to health issues.
As his family wished, a small funeral was held at his mother’s residence, attended by family and close friends.
Mr. Jang had been struggling with a health condition for a long time, and he passed away from cerebral hemorrhage stemming from his condition.
We would like to thank the readers for all the love and support you’ve shown for Solo Leveling, and we ask that everyone prays for Mr. Jang to rest in a better place.
The staff of Solo Leveling and all of us at REDICE Studio pray for Mr. Jang, who always held a deep love for his work and the readers.
Respectfully,
REDICE Studio
Sources: REDICE’s website and Twitter account, TopStarNews, Crunchyroll (Joseph Luster)
