Born: 1935

Leadership: 1967 - 2006

Children: Ji-hun, Areum (estranged)

Grandchildren: Hongjoong, (2 more unconfirmed)

Died: 2006 (aged 71)

 

Born and raised during, perhaps, one of the most trying times in history, Bong-hwa grew up quite aware of the world around him. When his father founded the gang, he was fourteen years old, and so understood the gravity of his father's undertaking. His induction into the gang was an organic process - it just happened. One day he was running errands for the Commission (which was what the founding families had come to call themselves) and the next he was playing lookout for his father on a job.

 

He witnessed the hardships of the Great Depression, when food was so scarce, they had to kill the rats that lived with them just to survive; two of his siblings grew sick from malnourishment and died. He was young, but he was angry like his father; and so, being part of the gang came naturally to him. Throughout his father's leadership he watched and learned: he knew what worked and what didn’t, and he took that with him when he gained power.

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In the year 1965, he married. His daughter, Areum was born shortly after, in 1966, while his son Ji-hun was born in 1970. As a father, he was distant and there was constant friction between him and his children, with his high standards and expectations of them. Areum eventually left to pursue her education in Canada and did not return since.

 

After his father’s death in1967, Bong-hwa gained power and immediately began expanding the gang's territories. He was ruthless and relentless. His methods were as extreme as his ambition. When a few families broke off from ATEEZ and formed their own gang, KARD, they paid for their rebellion dearly.

 

There were many stories about him, all just as grotesque and abhorrent as the others, so that it became hard to distinguish the real from the rumour. But if you were to question any member of ATEEZ, they would say that it was Bong-hwa who really established the gang - such was his reputation.

 

In the late 1990's, Bong-hwa, at the behest of his son, Ji-hun, attempted to forge a deal with KARD that would allow for their businesses to flourish once again. ATEEZ's profits were at an all-time low because of the constant fighting and retaliation from the rival gang, and a deal was the best solution to end the bloodshed and bring back the profits.

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The deal fell through in the year 2000 and the fighting ensued, more vicious than before. At this time, Bong-hwa had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He eventually succumbed to the illness and died in 2006, leaving leadership of the gang to his son Ji-hun.

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Bong-hwa was 71 at the time of his passing and had been in power for almost 40 years. With Choi Hyun-ki as his underboss and chief advisor, he was the one to mould ATEEZ into the notorious gang it had become.