She shares her own knowledge and techniques about cosmetics through “Fantastic Cosmetic” and its sequel “Fantastic Cosmetic for Men,” which show readers how to use cosmetic products easily. “My Spontaneous European Trip for 45 Days” is based on her unplanned trip to Europe.

“I wanted to write realistic yet humorous comics basically to introduce readers that there are more comfortable ways to do things in life,” she said.

It was never easy for Kim to become a comic artist, often finding herself in the wrong place in a wrong time.

She started writing comics for book publishing houses in 2006 when the book industry was beginning to face a decline, and webtoon platforms were rapidly rising.

It took her eight years to debut her first PC webtoon, “How I Got Married” on a Daum Kakao platform in 2014. Her previous works, including “Fantastic Cosmetic” were published as comic books.

“I strongly believed in writing comics for books,” Kim said.

“But I realized that technology was changing the landscape, and I was wandering in the middle of books and webtoons trying to find a way to debut on the Web,” Kim said.

“How I Got Married” was a hit, with each episode recording 100,000 views on average. If this webtoon had not worked, she said she was going to give up comic drawing and go back to teaching English at private institutions.

With her successful webtoon debut, she thought she could finally settle down as an artist.

But then soon came the mobile era.

She released “This is What She Thinks” – sort of like “Sex and the City” meets Korean film “Girls’ Night Out” – on Lezhin Entertainment’s mobile webtoon platform.

“As a comic artist, I used to think that you only need to create good stories. Not anymore,” said Kim.

“Now, you have to not only forecast and read trends and audiences, but also strategize on which platforms or markets you want to tell stories.”

This is why she respects veteran comic artist Huh Young-man because he introduced a series of hits on multiple platforms such as magazines, books, TVs, movies and the Internet throughout his career. Huh is known for his blockbuster comics such as “Beat,” “Tazza: The High Rollers,” “Superboard” and “Mr. Go.”

“We need to constantly study like Huh to make it in this business,” Kim said.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)

Up & Coming is a series of interviews with emerging artists in various fields of arts and entertainment. ― Ed.