Interview with bumbae, Creator of <The Ki Sisters>
Meeting the Creator of the Moment
vol. 238
[The Ki Sisters]
Creator bumbae | NAVER WEBTOON
From somewhere...
The spirit of a dragon and a tiger can be felt...
What is this suspicious aura...?
Who is that girl with the eerie aura...?
Here live!! Four sisters with rather strong personalities!!!
The interview with bumbae, creator of <The Ki Sisters>,
Starts right now!
[INTRO]
Q. Hello, Creator bumbae! Thank you for joining this interview! Could you briefly introduce yourself before we start?
A. Hello, I'm the cute rookie creator bumbae. I'm currently publishing the Thursday webtoon The Ki Sisters on Naver Webtoon.
[About bumbae]
Q. The hot creator who birthed a global meme! How have you been spending your days in the newly started 2025?
A. I've been spending commendable days sleeping well and exercising often.
I started Pilates in January, and my goal is to get shredded by the end of the year.
Also, I'm working on several collaborations that felt like a distant dream just last year.
Photoism, PPLs, perfumes, etc... An emoji set is coming soon too^_^!
On top of that, I'm preparing for the series finale.
It's a bit sad since it's just starting to get into the spotlight... but wrapping it up nicely before dragging it out with unreasonable plots is the virtue of a gag comic.
Q. I'm curious how you decided on the pen name 'bumbae'!
A. I was a huge Marvel fan in middle school,
I got hooked on a line from Black Panther ("Yibambe!") and made my nickname 'Lee Bumbae'.
There was already a creator on Naver with the pen name 'Lee Bumbae', so
I dropped the surname and am active as 'bumbae'.
However, I still feel a bit empty with the surname spot missing in front of 'bumbae', so I'm thinking about it.
I want to find the perfect surname to attach to it.
Q. I'm curious about how you decided to become a webtoon creator and the process behind it!
A. I originally preferred fine arts, but
after hearing my high school teacher say, 'There aren't many spots left in the webtoon industry now...', I got ambitious and made a sharp turn.
It's a secret, but... even before [Amor Fati], which is uploaded on my creator page,
I challenged the Naver Webtoon contest about four times.
Touching human drama masterpieces are what I strive for, but I guess I had zero talent for it. I failed every single one.
On the other hand, I prepared a gag comic spontaneously and submitted it with a light heart, and it got accepted for serialization.
I'm accepting my destiny.
△It's on Canvas (Best Challenge)~!
Q. As a creator continuing the legacy of Naver gag webtoons, is there any work you've seen that 'tore it up with a different charm from <The Ki Sisters>'? Please recommend one!
A. I highly recommend the completed series 'Your Target' (당신의 과녁).
It's the reason why 'touching human drama masterpieces' became my aesthetic ideal.
I also wanted to do a work like 'Your Target'... ... but here we are.
Q. What media do you often watch or what music do you play while working?
A. I listen to a lot, a lot of music.
When I have to pull an all-nighter, I listen to K-pop and Korean hip-hop...
When I want to get emotional, I listen to foreign hip-hop.
When planning the story for The Ki Sisters, I listen to dark classical music that fits the vibe.
...And when I write stories for Queen Laura, I listen to Nicki Minaj.
△Editing uh! Working uh huh!!
Q. Please let us know if you have any comics you loved or works you still enjoy reading!
A. Some readers of The Ki Sisters might have noticed this, but...
I was deeply impressed by Attack on Titan.
I personally find that signature depiction of opening the mouth wide to show the bottom teeth so funny, and I love it.
Q. Although no one asks first, if you have a strength you definitely want to brag about, please show it off proudly right here!
A. I... have fast hands. I've even finished the entire drawing process in two days.
Of course, that involves skipping meals and sitting until my butt turns square.
Also, the fact that I'm the same age as IVE's An Yujin...
[About <The Ki Sisters>]
Q. I'm curious about the initial idea that birthed <The Ki Sisters>, a work with multi-faceted charm!
A. I got instantly hooked when I first saw the battle-of-nerves ASMR Shorts collaboration between YouTubers RalRal and Eddie,
It started from the idea, 'If all four sisters have strong personalities, it would be truly suffocating...'
It seems The Ki Sisters came to be as my personal tastes were mixed into the visual and character settings.
△Ta-da! Enter!
Q. I'm curious about how <The Ki Sisters>, which was introduced as one of the relay series in Naver's 'ㅋㅋ Short.zip', led to an official serialization!
A. Actually, when I submitted The Ki Sisters to ㅋㅋ Short.zip... I secretly had high hopes. Isn't this worthy of serialization..?
After that, when the main episode was uploaded, the reaction was good. I expected even more. Wouldn't they contact me...?
And I actually did get a call.
I believe I got the opportunity for official serialization thanks to the people who left good comments during ㅋㅋ Short.zip.
Q. Were there any works that influenced you while preparing for the official serialization of <The Ki Sisters>?
A. Because I referenced the dark sitcom vibes of 'Wednesday' and 'Hello Franceska',
I think I was influenced the most by those two works.
And I was influenced by the bottom teeth depiction from Attack on Titan.
Q. The characters have incredibly strong personalities, are there any real-life figures that served as motifs?
A. Since my art style is highly realistic (Gekiga style), I need real-life figure motifs to reference when drawing.
For Jenny, I took the visual motif from BLACKPINK's Lisa, and for Jang-nyeo, from actress Kim Seo-hyung.
Other than that, there are many characters I created based on my own tastes!
△Fierce Battle (Dragon vs Tiger) Live-Action Mode
Q. Reading the work, I thought you have a very diverse array of art styles.
I'm curious which version is the most enjoyable to draw!
A. Thank you for noticing the style changes!🤭
When Jang-nyeo goes into 'Patriarch Mode', I try to give off a macho vibe like Marvel Comics or Fist of the North Star,
I think that's the most enjoyable because I can freely use thick lines and heavy inking.
△Listen to your dad, I mean... listen to your older sister well. (Stern)
Q. Jenny is so pretty. When I see the normal face of Jenny, this runaway romance locomotive, she seems like a girl born to be a shoujo romance protagonist,
making me wonder why she uses her face so recklessly.
Among the various versions of Jenny's face in the work, which face do you personally like and in what situation does it appear?
A. Haha, thank you for finding her pretty.
Actually, I felt a bit regretful because I felt I was ruining Jenny's face less compared to the other characters...
So, it's also the most fun when I do ruin her face.
I mostly enjoy drawing her crossed eyes while wearing wide-angle glasses when she is dumbfounded or enraged.
△Does she still look cute just because I have my rose-tinted glasses on?
Q. Sal-gyo's beloved Yupdduk... I presume?
As a perfectionist, what are the essential options Sal-gyo must add when ordering Yupdduk?
A. Extra cheese, extra tuna rice balls, and make it extra spicy!
△Tonight's dinner will be Sal-gyo's pick!...
Q. I'm curious about the childhood of Jang-nyeo Ki, who swallowed her father.
Was there an incident that made her feel the role and responsibility as the eldest daughter of this family?
A. I think she was just born with a strong sense of responsibility...
Given the large age gap with her younger sisters, I think she naturally took on the role of a guardian.
If there is a specific incident that made her feel that responsibility...!
I will reveal it in Season 2.
Q. Since when have the Ki family events like the family meetings and the Kistival been going on?
A. Wouldn't it be since their lively mother married into the dark and gloomy Ki family?
I think their mother steadily created them since her dating days.
△The sunlight falls~ Sha-la-la-la-la-la~🎵
Q. Looking at the characters' diverse expressions and poses, it seems your understanding of human anatomy, including facial muscles, is almost at a Ph.D. level.
What kind of study and practice is required to achieve this level of expressiveness?
A. I'm flattered...🫣
Rather than studying, I just love depicting people so much that my expression naturally improved.
(On the flip side, I hate using my brain, so the story naturally became flimsy...)
I recommend copying an entire anatomy book from cover to cover!
Q. You created the unprecedented meme "Queen never cry."
I'm curious about how you felt when you realized it was receiving so much love from overseas fans.
A. I was so, so thrilled and happy. It felt like a reward for all my hard work so far...
It was so exciting to see so many people having fun talking about my drawings, parodying them, making jokes, and creatively applying them.
It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
I was also so starved for attention... It was fascinating how that hunger was satisfied in a completely unexpected way.
It made me realize that life is completely unpredictable... If you just do your best, unimaginable opportunities will suddenly come knocking.
△Queen never cry🐦🔥
Q. The Queen Family is famous as a quote machine in the work.
Where do you get the ideas for the iconic quotes that come out of their mouths?
A. I think about it very fiercely.
So it's really exhausting when the Queen Family appears (lol) I don't even speak English well, nor can I write profound quotes...
If I spend 20 to 30 minutes on it and nothing plausible comes out, I ask ChatGPT for help. (It's not very helpful, but it means well...)
△Just bursting with charm.
Q. Each character's charm is so distinct that it's hard to pick just one, but
if there are favorite characters that soothe your heart, shall we pick exactly three?
A. Three! Nice and generous, I like it!
Jang-nyeo Ki and Jang-nam Kki are my favorites, so they are fun to draw.
The remaining spot... is Heo Se-ho,
That's because he handles the 'narration', 'event explanation', and 'story progression' all by himself in the comic, so I feel indebted to him.😅
△Cheering for you, Se-ho...
Q. Could you share any scenes or episodes that made you giggle while imagining them, pause from laughing while drawing them,
or feel proud of the fans' reactions after publishing?
A. My minimum standard for a manuscript is that I have to giggle at least once while plotting it,
but there are a few episodes where I didn't just 'giggle' but laughed out loud, "Hahahahaha Hahahahahaha!!"
'Jenny's Home Party (1)', 'Kki House', 'Halloween Special', 'The Queen Family',
Readers always recognize the episodes I had fun drawing.
Thanks to that, I could continue to feel pleased even after the episodes I laughed at while plotting were uploaded.
△What is your pick!?
Q. It's a personal question, but watching the 'Inter-floor Noise' episode made me curious.
Creator... do you perhaps hate cats?
A. I like cats, but... I don't know cats very well.
This friend was another cat candidate, but couldn't see the light of day due to everyone trying to stop me.
Isn't it kind of cute in its own way..?
△...Something else got mixed in...
[Outro]
Q. How much is left until <The Ki Sisters> reaches its finale?
A. It will be concluded soon!
△Currently completed! Congratulations~!!!💐
Q. If you become a veteran creator someday, is there a genre or project you'd really want to challenge yourself with?
A. I'd like to try my hand at a brutal action fantasy... like Parasyte.
I really want to write a heavy, highly immersive story.
Q. Thank you so much for your hard work answering this long interview.
You must have received many affectionate comments and questions, are there any that stand out in your memory?
A. Whenever I post a hiatus or delay notice, I always post it bracing myself to be whipped,
but I'm often surprised because everyone is so warm...
When I used to be late frequently and apologized often, a comment left by 'Posu Military Academy'
saying, 'Please write it with the same imposing confidence as when you first wrote on your creator page,' oddly comforted me and I keep remembering it.
I haven't seen you in the comment section lately... ... ... please come back ~~!!!!!!
△'Posu Military Academy', the creator is looking for you.📢
Q. Lastly, if you have anything you'd like to say to the readers who loved <The Ki Sisters>, please speak freely.
A. Thank you so much for reading, laughing, and enjoying it. I want to continue being together with you forever and ever.
