"It's my life" is an interview series that looks for alumni who have found a career that does not relate to their majors, and the series delivers their stories to juniors. The second interviewee of “It’s my life” is webcomic artist "Ja-Yu."

Lim Eun-Min (Dept. of archaeology. graduate 14), the actual name of "Ja-Yu," made her debut as a webtoon writer on Naver while in university. After graduating in 2014, she went to graduate school but didn't complete the course. She finally chose her way as an actual artist and has continued her activities for ten years.

Webtoon writer "Ja-Yu" uses bright colors and charming drawing styles. Each scene has considerable details and humorous elements. In particular, the representative works, "Rol-lang-rol-lang " and "Enchant-The Naram Story," are known as well-made webtoons. On March 17, Channel PNU met her through ZOOM, an online video conferencing platform.

Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.

A. Hello, I'm Lim Eun-min, a cartoonist under the name "Ja-Yu." I graduated from Pusan National University with a major in archaeology and a minor in Korean Literature in Chinese Classics. I debuted as a webcomic artist when I had time off for a year. After returning to school, I worked simultaneously. But after entering graduate school, it was not easy, so I ended up quitting my master's course early and decided on a path toward one thing.

Q. I'm curious about how you started working as a webtoon cartoonist.

A. I didn't desire to study archaeology at the beginning. Rather than that, I loved comics so much that I dreamed of becoming a cartoonist. I thought there would be a lot of stories to deal with. In short, I chose the major as a strategic choice.

And at that time, I vaguely thought that cartoonists would be better than webtoon writers. Webtoon platforms were not active that much. However, I finally became a webtoon writer, and I think a stroke of incredible luck worked on me.

Also, I could draw cartoons that suit me in the first place. So I like the series "The Zebra" that I drew in the early days.

Q. A character in the representative work "Enchant-The Naram Story" is a relic, like an earthenware bowl or celadon, and the debut work "The Zebra" also tells about history. Is there a reason you used material related to your major while drawing cartoons?

A. As I mentioned earlier, I went to the department of archaeology to use the contents for comic materials. I thought it was natural to use my major-related materials on my drawings. I enjoyed my major classes much, so I was proud when I melted even a little bit of what I learned into the cartoon.

Q. As you chose a completely different job from your major, I think everyone around you responded differently.

A. My parents and friends knew that I liked cartoons. So, I thought it was natural rather than surprising. Of course, at first, my parents thought it was a temporary job. I remember my colleagues and professors who didn't know I was drawing cartoons said they were astonished and thought it was unexpected.

Q. Webtoon cartoonists must have a lot of difficulties as they have to draw the scenes and create story compositions, but I think there will be good points too.

A. First of all, I had more advantages than difficulties. I liked the fact that I could conceive everything under my control. I'm in charge of organizing stories, creating content, and translating them into pictures, so I can fully reflect my taste. That's the best part.

But sometimes, I found difficulties too. Moreover, webtoons at that time had no composition method. There was a limit to drawing them alone. On that note, I received feedback from other people or managers. I tried to find the middle point so that the content wouldn't be complex.

Q. What do you think is the most important thing when creating a story and publishing serially. Also, do you have your values or beliefs?

A. There's nothing grand, but I realized that it's better to draw according to my preference after a long career. That's my view as a cartoonist.

It seems easy to draw the cartoon you want at the beginning, but once you start publishing a series of works, it's blocked for one reason or another. I think it's important not to be swayed as much as possible by pushing ahead with the direction set in advance. These days, I am also trying to organize stories and write concise lines to make them easier for readers to understand. It's better if you can see anything easily and comfortably.

Q. I wonder how your campus life was.

A. As with my major, all the lectures I could take in the humanities department were interesting. Therefore, I attended liberal arts and other classes, but they were not my things. The professors also told me that listening to the lecture I didn't apply to was okay. I was able to attend with a relaxed mind without any burden. Sometimes I miss sitting in the back and taking classes.

Some of my colleagues I came to know while I was taking a new lecture, but I have a lot of colleagues from other departments who have become close to me through the Korean literature club that reads classical literature. I heard that elementary, middle, and high school friends usually last long. But I have more friends while attending university, and I am still doing well. Perhaps, that's why I can't relate well to the fact that some can't make true friends in college.

Q. What did you gain the most from your college life?

A. There is so much to talk about. Though, the one thing for sure is that I took highly educational humanities courses. The classes provided a tremendous fortune to my life. The Dept. of archaeology was to obtain materials, but I think I was fortunate to major in archaeology at the College of Humanities. Humanities study helped me think about how I would live in the future, just as they served as a stepping stone for my writer's life.

Also, I can't miss out on my friends. I moved on to a special relationship by discussing common interests such as grades and classes. Looking back, they were very precious memories. I think it's essential to meet and see many different people regardless of their major or school.

Q. Recently, the number of websites that share illegally uploaded webtoons has increased. Also, there are many plagiarized works. What do you think about this situation?

A. It's hard to track down and report illegal upload issues. Nowadays, any pictures are easy to access, and there are more than a few creators who suffer.

But I'm trying to think positively. Now YouTube also has a system that automatically finds and connects copyright holders even if copyrighted music goes into videos for a while. I believe that in the field of art, like drawing and music, such a system will be actively introduced to immediately prevent this problem from occurring. The webtoon market is still growing, therefore, it will take some time, though.

Plagiarism is a problem that occurs a lot because it produces results quickly as it takes less effort. The guidelines were not apparent in the past, and tracking the background was also a frequent problem. These days, copyright awareness has increased, and sites that provide accessible composition sources and 3D backgrounds can be used, so I hope this will prevent it.

Q. Currently, we are sharing simple drawing classes, character design, and how to draw illustrations through YouTube. Do you have any tips for students preparing webtoons?

A. I started producing YouTube content because I thought there was not enough information (about the picture). There are various lectures and books such as novels to access the massive story structure data, but webtoon and digital paintings are new fields. So, it is hard to find details.

I'm a webtoon artist who both writes and draws, but I think this market is slightly different now. In the past, separating writers and cartoonists was unfamiliar because the cartoon itself had to express the writer's total capabilities. But now, the webtoon artist field is becoming more and more divided, with not only painting but also coloring, writing script, and setting background. If you are preparing to make a webtoon, it is best to draw what the webtoon artist wants and correct values and beliefs for doing this job. For example, what you wish to tell someone your story, what kind of story you want to produce well, or what you want to express well with your paintings.

Q. Is there anything you want to say to your junior colleagues at PNU?

I'm very pleased to have juniors who are interested in me. At first, it was difficult for me to attend because I thought I couldn't fit in. However, after I had time, I took classes I wanted to take myself and did everything I wanted to do. PNU is a good school. The facilities are well-equipped, and especially the central library has many books. Many professors can help if you decide to do your best. There is no institution as free to learn something as universities, so it would be good to use 200% of the school while attending it.

Q. What are you up to?

A. As I have done so far, I would like to continue drawing comics in my direction and as I wish. It's fun to talk and write about it, because I'm good at it and I like it. I don't want to throw either away. But I've been running for ten years, so I'm thinking of taking a break and going back.

Reporter Shin Ji-Won

Translated by Shin Ji-Won