Min Ani's 'unrooted' art goes global after drawing BTS's Park Ji-min

85-year-old romance manhwa artist Min Ani has re-emerged on the world stage with her drawings, which she describes as "drawings without a lineage." What led her back to the drawing board after a long hiatus caused by the decline of the printed manhwa industry was, unexpectedly, BTS's Park Ji-min. The reaction from international fans sparked by a single drawing became a new creative driving force for the 85-year-old artist.

Appearing on tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" aired on the 9th, Min Ani shared her life in manhwa and the story of how she began drawing K-pop stars as her recent subject matter. She has recently been gaining attention online by reinterpreting global K-pop stars, including BTS, Blackpink, and Stray Kids, through her unique romance manhwa art style.

Explaining her work, Min said, "I have never learned to draw anywhere," adding, "That is why the drawings I make are 'servant drawings.'" She continued, "If you don't have a lineage, aren't you called a servant?" She used this humorous expression to explain that she built her own artistic world through self-teaching, without formal art education or training under a specific master.

The catalyst for her return to drawing was a suggestion from her daughter. Min revealed that while she had drawn manhwa for a long time, she naturally stopped working as the print- and publication-centered manhwa market declined. During this time, her daughter encouraged her, saying, "Instead of just idling around, draw on a YouTube channel," prompting her to start drawing K-pop stars as new subjects.

The turning point was her third work, a drawing of BTS's Park Ji-min. Min recalled, "After drawing Park Ji-min, I received 150 comments from abroad," and noted, "I received attention from ARMYs all over the world." It was an experience where a global fandom, spanning different languages and borders, responded directly to her art, moving beyond the domestic romance manhwa readership she had long been a part of.

That reaction went beyond simple online buzz and became the reason she revived her desire to create. Min said that after thinking, "It would be fun to keep drawing," she decided, "From then on, I put everything else aside, stopped going out to the city or shopping, and just drew like my life depended on it." The passion of the 85-year-old artist, immersing herself in manhwa again after a long hiatus, was no less than that of a young creator.

As her daughter turned Min's drawings into videos and introduced them on platforms like YouTube, the spread of her work accelerated even further. It was a new distribution structure where romance manhwa, which used to meet readers through the physical medium of paper books, was delivered to users worldwide through digital platforms. For Min, K-pop became more than just a subject for drawing; it became a cultural medium connecting the past and present, and the analog and digital.

During the broadcast, works featuring K-pop stars reborn as romance manhwa protagonists through Min's hands were revealed, including BTS's RM, V, and Jung Kook, as well as Stray Kids' Felix and RESCENE's Woni and Minami. By adding the unique aesthetics of romance manhwa—such as large eyes, delicate lines, and dramatic expressions—to the actual features of the individuals, a completely different image was bestowed upon the familiar stars.

Watching this, Yoo Jae Suk expressed admiration, saying, "You drew them so well. They look almost alive," and drew laughter by looking at her drawings and saying, "I want to look like this."

As Min's unique art style and life story were spotlighted through the broadcast, interest also gathered regarding the generational value of her work. Min remarked, "The world is full of surprises. I am experiencing all sorts of things in this world. It's a fascinating world." Her creative life, which seemed to have stopped with the decline of published manhwa, has entered a new phase through her daughter's suggestion and the response of the K-pop fandom.

Her expression of "drawings without a lineage" paradoxically encapsulates the unique aesthetics of the artist Min Ani. Because she did not rely on formal educational lineages or the grammar of a specific school, she was able to meet a new audience in her own way even after the times had changed. The single drawing of Park Ji-min made at age 85 did not just summon an artist's past; it swung open a new chapter of creative time that has not yet ended for her.