The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 26, she debuted by winning the grand prize with Talent at the Wink new comic artist contest. That same year she serialized Unplugged Boy, and News Culture writes that she drew attention as soon as she appeared on the comics scene.
In 1997, the work came out as her first long-form comic. In 1998, she began serializing Audition and worked on character design for the H.O.T. “The Promise of H.O.T.” music video. In 1999, Audition was chosen for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s 3rd Today’s Our Comics Award.
In 2003, she wrote the novel The Club. In 2011, she started in webtoons with Dress Code on Daum Webtoon. In 2013, a theme based on that webtoon was added to Wemade’s game Everytown.
In 2014, she began serializing Love Alarm on Daum Webtoon. The year she turned 49, a Netflix original series based on the webtoon was released. Season 2 came out in 2021. In 2022, after nearly eight years of serialization, she finished the main story, and in December five works sharing the same universe were announced.
In 2024, she provided original Unplugged Boy art for the cover of the debut album of the group TWS.
In May 2025, Unplugged Boy was reissued after 28 years, and she released the web novel Wangi Doel Mom. In 2026, Unplugged Boy returned as a color webtoon on Naver Webtoon.
Chon Kye-young (born 1970) debuted in 1996, the year she turned 26, by winning the Wink new comic artist contest grand prize, and became known that same year when Unplugged Boy drew attention as soon as she appeared on the comics scene. She started in webtoons with Dress Code in 2011, the year she turned 41, and her webtoon Love Alarm was released as a Netflix original series on Aug 22, 2019, the year she turned 49.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Debuted by winning the grand prize with Talent at the new comic artist contest of Wink, a magazine published by Seoul Media Group.
Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Unplugged Boy reissue · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Web novel Wangi Doel Mom · opens in a new tab The articles give no month or day for the award.After the contest grand prize, serialized Unplugged Boy in Wink. News Culture writes that she drew attention as soon as she appeared on the comics scene with this work.
Yonhap News Agency describes the work as her first long-form comic, published in 1997, and says it was very popular from its release.
Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Unplugged Boy reissue · opens in a new tabSource 11 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Unplugged Boy webtoon · opens in a new tab The articles give no month or day for the book release.Serialized it through 2001. The articles report that the comic sold more than 1 million copies.
Source 04 · Newsen (Korean) · Audition drama production · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Munhwa Ilbo (Korean) · Web novel challenge · opens in a new tabSource 03 · News Culture (Korean) · TWS collaboration · opens in a new tabSource 20 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Comic artist Chon Kye-young tries a novel · opens in a new tab The run of 1998 to 2001 follows Newsen (2010). Maeil Business Newspaper (2002) wrote that she began serializing Audition in Wink in 1997, so the start year differs.Worked on character design for the animated music video of a track from H.O.T.’s third studio album.
Source 03 · News Culture (Korean) · TWS collaboration · opens in a new tab The article gives no release month or day.Audition was among the winning works of the 3rd Today’s Our Comics Award, selected and announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Source 18 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · 3rd Today’s Our Comics Award winners · opens in a new tabMaeil Business Newspaper reported that Lasco Entertainment would produce Audition as a theatrical animated feature. Five volumes of the books were out at the time.
Source 19 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Audition theatrical animation · opens in a new tab The date is that of the article. Whether the film was released was not confirmed in the articles.Began studying art in New York in the United States.
Source 20 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Comic artist Chon Kye-young tries a novel · opens in a new tab The year follows a May 2002 article that dates it to the previous year; the articles give no month or day.Took on fiction and wrote The Club.
Source 02 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Web novel Wangi Doel Mom · opens in a new tabSource 20 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Comic artist Chon Kye-young tries a novel · opens in a new tab The year follows Yonhap News Agency; no month or day appears in the articles. Maeil Business Newspaper wrote that she would serialize The Club in Bijou, a magazine launching in May 2002.Started in webtoons with Dress Code, a comic about fashion information.
Source 05 · TV Report (Korean) · Dress Code episode 1 · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Web novel Wangi Doel Mom · opens in a new tabA theme based on the webtoon was added to the game, and the artist took part directly in producing the game content.
Source 13 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Everytown Dress Code · opens in a new tabA webtoon set in a world with an app that sounds an alarm when someone who likes you comes near.
Source 06 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Love Alarm ends · opens in a new tabSource 08 · ZDNet Korea (Korean) · Webtoon-based drama · opens in a new tab The articles give no start day for the serialization.A Netflix original series based on the webtoon Love Alarm was released simultaneously in more than 190 countries.
Source 15 · MBN (Korean) · Love Alarm release · opens in a new tabSource 08 · ZDNet Korea (Korean) · Webtoon-based drama · opens in a new tabThe second season of the Netflix original series based on the same webtoon was released.
Source 16 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Love Alarm season 2 · opens in a new tabSource 17 · Star News (Korean) · Song Kang’s fourth debut anniversary · opens in a new tabFinished the main story of the serialization that began in September 2014. The final epilogue episode was released on May 4.
Source 06 · Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Love Alarm ends · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Café for webtoon artists created by Chon Kye-young · opens in a new tab The date the main story ended follows Kyunghyang Shinmun. Yonhap News Agency writes that it ended on May 4.Kakao Entertainment said it would serialize five webtoons and web novels sharing the same universe. A Nov. 25 report had said Love Alarm Jjak Jjak Jjak, a live-action dating show based on the webtoon, would launch on Wavve that day.
Source 09 · Newsis (Korean) · Love Alarm shared universe · opens in a new tabSource 10 · Sports Today (Korean) · Wavve dating show · opens in a new tabProvided original Unplugged Boy art for the Weverse edition cover design of Sparkling Blue, the first mini album by Pledis Entertainment’s new group TWS. News Culture writes that it was her first collaboration with a K-pop group in 25 years, since H.O.T.
Source 03 · News Culture (Korean) · TWS collaboration · opens in a new tabIt was reported that Munhakdongne would publish a two-volume reissue with added color illustrations. The reissue came ahead of the 30th anniversary of her debut.
Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Unplugged Boy reissue · opens in a new tab The article announces the reissue; the bookstore release date was not confirmed.Took on web novels and released Wangi Doel Mom on KakaoPage.
Source 02 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Web novel Wangi Doel Mom · opens in a new tabNaver Webtoon first released a vertical-scroll webtoon of 16 episodes, with color added to the black-and-white books, on Naver Series and other platforms.
Source 11 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Unplugged Boy webtoon · opens in a new tabSource 12 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Comic artists return as webtoonists · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1996–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Books · South Korea
1970 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1970: the year of the event minus 1970, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.06 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.