The Drawings for my Grandchildren Instagram account has more than 163,000 followers
What would steps would you take to reconnect with your grandchildren when you’ve found yourself alone on the other side of the ocean?
75-year-old South Korean grandfather Chan Jae Lee living in Brazil is now embracing the new and unfamiliar world of social media in a bid to show grandchildren his drawings who are living around the world.
At first, Chan Jae struggled to grasp the concept of modern day technology but with the help of his wife and son’s help Ji Lee, Chan Jae turned to Instagram, using his account as a storytelling tool to share the pictures he draws by hand for his beloved three grandsons.
As of today his account, Drawings for my Grandchildren, has amassed more than 163,000 followers who are captivated by his creations.
Chan Jae’s family, originally from Seoul, relocated to Sao Paulo in 1981 but changes in circumstance meant that his son Ji Lee moved to New York while his sister and her husband made the decision to return to Korea with their two sons, who were very close to Chan Jae.
In an interview, Ji Lee was quoted, “My father was retired and spending time with my nephews, like driving them to school, was a huge part of his day. After they left, he had nothing to do and that scared my mother and me. We were very worried that he would age quickly without having anything to do and would become depressed.”
His son, Ji Lee was worried about his father mental health and tried to convince him for months to draw for his grandchildren, as he had for his children, and post the pictures online to stay in touch.
“He hated the idea and just could not grasp the concept. He didn’t understand the purpose of why we wanted to share his art on Instagram but I was determined to teach him,”
“But I sat down with him every day and at dinner one night, we had a conversation about drawing for my son. That was the turning point and eventually he became more receptive to learn.” said Ji Lee
At first Chan Jae struggled with modern day technology but he eventually learnt how to use Instagram and how to use editing tools as well as hash tagging. Nowadays he is drawing at least one picture a day with his wife writing the captions accompanying each and every picture.
Animals, nature and everyday life are just some of the prominent themes in Chan Jae’s work with each post telling an interesting story, a lesson, or a memory. Some even carry personal messages. Chan Jae’s wife writes and translates the captions into three languages: English, Korean and Portuguese.
To take things a step further, Ji Lee told his father’s story through a video on Facebook which went viral, gathering more than 67,000 reactions, 28,000 shares and 4.5m views on the site.
Thousands of users on Facebook wrote about how Chan Jae’s story touched them.
“Thank you for opening the door and your arms, embracing an audience that platforms/products seldom focus on. An audience with stories so rich our next generation will be fortunate to grow with. Whilst nothing can replace a hug from Grandpa, stories, time and love transcends. Can’t love this more. ~xo~,” said May Seow.
Others like Sandra Nam thanked Ji for telling his story and inspiring her to get her mother to draw again.
“Thank you Ji for sharing this and inspiring me! Our family lives far away from each other too and I used to love my mom’s drawings growing up. Just sent it to my parents in the hopes of her drawing again. 
.”
Lena Sull said: “ love, love, love this story. Art with a purpose, I want to meet your dad someday! Because of him and his awesome story I started drawing (pencil only for the time being) daily. Art has always been a passion and when I heard about your dad it inspired me to do the same. I don’t have any grandchildren, not yet but I’ll be ready. Thanks for sharing!”
In a Facebook post Ji Lee, said the most rewarding part of this all was helping others around the world.
Here’s a look at some of the beautiful art he’s made for his grandchildren:
Follow Chan Jae’s Drawings for my Grandchildren on Instagram