The webtoon artist ChoiPippPyapp (unofficial spelling) has stayed in KAIST for six months as part of the artist residency program hosted by KAIST. The KAIST Herald had the opportunity to interview her during her stay, and her responses were no less interesting than her webtoons.

Hello, can you introduce yourself and explain how you got to stay in KAIST?

I’m Pipp (pseudonym), the author of the Naver Webtoon Misughan Chinguneun G-guin (unofficial romanization), which featured until last year December. I was always interested in the STEM fields, but I never had the chance to delve into them having gone to an art school. So, I applied to the artist residency program in KAIST, thinking now would be the best time to explore science and technology.. The program selects three from the applicant pool, which consists of artists such as playwrights and writers, and the selected, as was I, are given a room and workplace within the KAIST apartments for six months.

What is a normal day at KAIST like? And are there any particularly memorable experiences?

The first thing I do after waking up is writing for my projects. When KAIST provides us with a schedule, it takes place at around 4 to 5 pm. I had the chance to look at labs at the KI Building (E4) and the Hubo Lab (N9), and my experience in the automated car was especially memorable; it was exciting in the beginning to be led by the car, but it quickly became awkward as I was left pretty much hanging with nothing to do. Then I usually meet students and staff members, occasionally other artists to share our experiences. Also, there have been times when I have participated in the late-night outings of student clubs such as Yeoljeongbu and Geomuhoe.

Have you found the things and people that you were hoping to see?

Definitely. In fact, what I found was beyond my expectations. I had this vague expectation that there would be people like the characters in the show The Big Bang Theory, and there was this one person who was so unrealistic even in comic standards that I had to split him into three different characters. Having visited over ten student clubs, I thought it was quite a spectacle to see that there were students who went on full-blown debates over topics such as celebrity gossip and whether sweet and sour pork should be eaten with its sauce all over the top or on the side like ketchup.

How do you think KAIST resembles or differs from other places?

The buildings have very good natural lighting, and people live very close to each other. The professors are very similar in that they think something easy for them is also easy to the students. There was this time when my professor started sketching the Notre Dame Cathedral with little effort and assigned the sketching as homework, claiming the task to be simple. I have a generally positive image of engineers since I think being able to focus on something is a sign of pureness. That said, I was very surprised to see how many students were manias. For example, there was this most feminine girl who turned out to be a history-mania. Also, I have heard that the Dengyeongdae app (an application whose alarm goes off when a new episode of the webtoon Denma has been uploaded) of different students would simultaneously go off during lectures; that does not even happen in the Graphic Arts department. Such an amazingly large percentage of the student body is obsessed with something. You do not normally hear people go “neurons are cute” or “bacteria are delightful.” All in all, everyone was unique and generally different from the media’s portrayal of engineers.

It’s a shame that you will be leaving soon. Are there places to remember?

It really is a shame… Six months is too short; a year would have been nicer. I could not come in April due to an injury, and befriending students was difficult during the holidays and exam periods, so that was a slight disappointment. It will be difficult to meet them often after I leave, but I would like to keep my relationship with them as acquaintances. The best pub in Eoeundong was certainly Dubalnebal, and House Frying Coffee Beans provided cheap and good quality coffee.

Do you have any words for students who also would like to partake in comics?

There is no set way to success in creative writing, but reading, thinking, writing, and drawing will never do you harm.