Seung-nam Ha, a Korean comic artist known for martial arts manhwa, has died at 68. Born in Busan in 1958, he entered the comics industry as an apprentice to artist Nam-gil Heo and made his debut in 1980 with The King of Baseball Without a Nationality.
One of Ha’s best-known works, Goltong's Declaration of Departure, began running in the newspaper Sports Today in 2001. It follows Yoo Se-ok, a young man drawn into the martial arts world by his master and caught up in a series of chaotic adventures. Ha founded Ha Seung-nam Production the following year and continued publishing stories in the Goltong series. He was also known for Divine Sword and Evil Sword.
Ha’s work reached audiences overseas. He serialized comics in Taiwan’s Infinite Boys magazine in 1994 and later published Sayaka in 2004 and Existence in 2005 in Japanese manga magazines. He also worked as the artist on a Records of the Three Kingdoms manga.
In 2007, Ha became the first Korean comic artist to join the Japan Cartoonists Association as a full member. He also served on the board of the Korea Cartoonist Association.
Sources: Anime News Network.