Author Jeon Gyeong-cheol [Provided by Kakao]
Author Jeon Gyeong-cheol [Provided by Kakao]

Author Jeon Gyeong-cheol, 63, known as the "Peter Pan Dad" for his moving accounts of raising a son with severe autism, died Saturday. He was 63.

Jeong Yu-jin, head of the Developmental Disabilities Support Expert Forum, announced his death on social media Sunday, writing that Jeon had "set off on a long journey" at 7:56 p.m. Saturday.

Jeong said the funeral would be held without a formal wake, in keeping with Jeon's wishes. "He is currently at the hospital, and no separate memorial hall will be set up," she wrote. "We offer our deepest condolences."

For more than 20 years, Jeon raised on his own a son who is now 27 but has the mental development of a 2- to 3-year-old due to severe autism.

After receiving a terminal diagnosis of late-stage liver cancer, Jeon spent more than a year knocking on the doors of roughly 1,000 care facilities across the country, determined to find a stable home where his son could live safely after he was gone.

He chronicled that journey in the essay collection "Annyeong Peter Pan." His story reached a wider audience through MBC's "Silhwa Tamsa-dae," a true-crime and human-interest documentary program, in March, and he appeared on tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" last month.

In words that moved many, Jeon wrote that while he wanted to tell his son to forget him and live happily, he could not bring himself to wish for that entirely. "I hope he remembers me as a faint longing — just the memory of an old man who used to look at him warmly," he said. "As for me, I will of course be holding in my arms the handsome baby who brought me happiness for 27 years."

Jeon donated royalties and related proceeds from "Annyeong Peter Pan" to fund the establishment of the Peter Pan Foundation, which he hoped would create a round-the-clock care community for people with disabilities.


min3654@heraldcorp.com