Heo Young-man
A gourmet's palate · Cartoonist — author of Sikgaek (The Gourmet) · host of Baekban Giheang (2019–2026)
He has looked at food all his life from the seat of the person eating, not the person cooking
- Debut in 1974
- Sikgaek, 27 volumes
- 3 million copies in Korea
- 7 years of Baekban Giheang
Who he is
Heo Young-man debuted in 1974 and has drawn comics for more than fifty years. He has left works as different from one another as Gaksital, Beat and Tazza, but on the subject of food he has only ever worked one way — he goes, he looks, he eats, and then he draws.
Sikgaek is that method sustained for eight years. He traveled to producing regions and artisans across the country and put what he found into 27 volumes, which sold three million copies in Korea alone. He followed it with seven years of Baekban Giheang, visiting 2,131 restaurants. What he looks at is not the recipe but the background a dish came out of and the people who live on it.
- Born
- 1947 · Yeosu, Jeollanam-do
- Field
- Cartoonist · food reporting
- Debut
- 1974, winner of the Hankook Ilbo new cartoonist competition
- Major work
- Sikgaek, 27 volumes (2002–2008)
What he did to get here
- 1974
Debut with Jibeul Chajaseo
He won the Hankook Ilbo new cartoonist competition and began working. The same year, Gaksital, serialized in the Sonyeon Hankook Ilbo, made his name.
- ~2001
Beat, Tazza, Fly! Superboard
He left major works across every genre. The titles adapted into film and animation are concentrated in this period.
- 2002
Sikgaek serialization begins
Serialization started in the Dong-a Ilbo. The story follows a protagonist traveling the country in search of ingredients, and the artist reported those producing regions himself.
- 2007
Into film and drama
Sikgaek was made into a film in 2007 and a television drama in 2008.
- 2008
Complete in 27 volumes
Eight years of serialization came to an end. It is Korea's best-known food comic, with more than three million copies sold domestically.
- 2010
Honorary doctorate in literature
Mokpo National University awarded him an honorary doctorate in literature for his contribution to Korean comics. It was the first given to a cartoonist.
- 2019
Baekban Giheang begins
On TV CHOSUN he began a program visiting long-established restaurants across the country to hear about their tables and the people behind them.
- 2026
A full stop after seven years
With 365 guests and 2,131 restaurants on record, the season closed with a special episode on 21 June.
What he sets out to protect
He checks it on foot
He does not draw food he has not reported. Most of the ingredients and regions in Sikgaek are places the artist went to see for himself.
He looks at people before food
He uses reporting not as a seat for rating taste but as a seat for hearing how a dish was made and who has eaten and lived on it.
He records tables with no name
For seven years he went to neighborhood institutions and baekban houses rather than fine dining. The cooking and the memories of his parents' generation are the subject of that record.
Fifty years, one method
He has not changed his method since his debut. He goes to the place, checks it, draws it, and only then builds the story.
“Food does not simply fill the stomach; it has the power to move people.”
Results you can verify
Comics
- Sikgaek, 27 volumes — serialized in the Dong-a Ilbo, 2002–2008 · more than 3 million copies sold in Korea
- Tazza
- Gaksital — Sonyeon Hankook Ilbo, 1974
- Beat
- Fly! Superboard (from the original Mister Son)
Television
- Sikgaek Heo Young-man's Baekban Giheang, TV CHOSUN, 2019–2026 — 365 guests · 2,131 restaurants
Awards and degrees
- 2004 Bucheon International Comics Grand Prize · Korea Comics Grand Prize
- 2007 7th Gobau Cartoonist Award
- 2008 National Assembly of Korea Award
- 2010 honorary doctorate in literature, Mokpo National University — the first awarded to a cartoonist
His role in this product
The place this person holds among the four axes: taste, health, tradition and maturation.
Judging from the eater's side
Not by salt content or amino acid figures, but by how it goes down with a spoonful of rice. His seat is to answer whether a prototype that clears the standards is actually good.
Checking the region and the maker
The same way he worked while drawing Sikgaek: seeing for himself where the raw material comes from and who cures it. Paperwork is no substitute.
Deciding its use on the table
He sets the item line-up and the use of a single-meal portion according to which table it goes on and which side dishes it sits beside.
Making the case for reduced salt
A less salty jeotgal needs explaining. His part is to put why this taste works into the language of the person eating.
* The detailed scope of participation is under discussion and will be updated once confirmed
The other three
See all fourThe standard for health
Park Yong-woo
Weight-management physician
See moreThe bamboo salt tradition
Kim In-seok
Practitioner who completed Intangible Cultural Heritage transmission training
See moreThe depth of maturation
Kim Myung-soo
Seafood master artisan
See more
Sources
- Namuwiki — Heo Young-man
- Bravo My Life — a full stop after seven years of Baekban Giheang
- Shina Ilbo — Sikgaek wraps up its 27-volume run
Compiled from publicly available material. If anything here is inaccurate, tell us through the contact page and we will correct it.