Chugong

Biography

Chugong is a South Korean web novel author who created Solo Leveling, originally serialized on the Korean web novel platform Kakao Page beginning in 2016 before receiving a comic adaptation (manhwa) by artist Dubu (Jang Sung-rak). The web novel completed in 2019 with 270 chapters. Relatively private, Chugong has credited classic fantasy role-playing game mechanics as a direct influence on the System concept central to Solo Leveling's premise. The manhwa adaptation achieved extraordinary international success, introducing the series to readers globally and driving the franchise toward its 2024 anime adaptation. Solo Leveling is widely credited as one of the works that significantly elevated international awareness of Korean manhwa as a narrative medium comparable to Japanese manga.