Prayoon Chanyavongs

Prayoon Chanyavongs (17 November 1915 – 3 December 1992) was a Thai comics artist and cartoonist known as Thailand's King of Cartoons for his satirical comics which attacked corruption and political ills. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts in 1971.

Personal life Kuhn Prayoon was born on 17 November 1915, the youngest of four children. As a three-year-old child, he began helping his parents peddle fruits and plu. When he was four, he was shamed when a teacher dressed him in rags and made him beg. This experience motivated him to get a good education to escape a life of poverty.

The Chanyavongs family's fortunes changed because of their business involving authorized opium dens. Prayoon's father's death in 1923 caused financial problems and Prayoon had to transfer to a school with cheaper matriculation fees. He then attended a public secondary school which offered free tuition for students with perfect attendance record. His schooling was assured even though he contracted malaria thanks to his determination by bringing with him medicine and by requesting for rest hours from his teachers when his fever surged.

Aside from political cartoons, Prayoon also created serial cartoons based on Thai folk tales for children. These became a hit among people in the provinces. Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts (1971)