Uiwang Gangster Grandpa

Origin

"The Uiwang Gangster Grandpa" is a nickname internet users gave to an elderly man frequently spotted on Seoul Subway Line 1. His striking appearance and confident bearing drew attention, and sightings and photographs were posted repeatedly to Korean communities, making him one of several recurring "Line 1 sighting" memes.

It is worth stressing that the nickname was assigned by the internet, not chosen by him. No violent behavior has been documented, and the word "gangster" functions as an exaggerated label derived from a strong first impression. How he circulated in Korean communities can be seen in posts on FMKorea.

The Actual Person

In November 2024, the SBS documentary program Wow! Really? Unbelievable Things in the World interviewed him directly, and his identity became public. His name is Park Wan-ho, and he is a poet and author.

The broadcast included him saying "I wrote the book myself," revealing that a figure the internet had treated as a subway oddity had in fact been publishing written work. The reversal became a story in its own right, and much of the mocking tone that surrounded him earlier subsided after the program aired.

The meme therefore stands as a case where the persona the internet built from appearances did not match the person. Today the nickname usually travels with that context — the Line 1 regular who turned out to be a poet — rather than as ridicule.

Sources

• Nate Entertainment, Nov 21, 2024 — coverage of the SBS program's interview and the reveal of his identity
• SBS, Wow! Really? Unbelievable Things in the World — official clip: “‘I wrote the book myself' — the hidden identity of the Uiwang Gangster Grandpa”
• Namuwiki, “Park Wan-ho” — his career as a poet and author, and its relation to the internet nickname