Donggeon Lee’s Yumi’s Cells centres around the seemingly humdrum life of a thirtysomething woman who loves tteokbokki and adores puppies.

Lee’s work is published weekly on Naver Webtoon and has became a staple at the top of the favourites list – and in the case of Yumi’s Cells, its avid readership showed how deeply relatable Yumi’s story was for many.

We spoke to Lee about his creative process and the inspiration for the character of Yumi, as well as what he thinks the appeal of webtoons is and what advice he has for budding webtoon authors.

How often do you work in your studio and what does a week’s schedule look like for a webtoon artist?

The cycle starts on Tuesday evening, when I choose what I’ll draw for Saturday’s episode. I create the storyboard on Wednesday and start drawing into the cuts on Thursday. Once I meet my deadline on Friday, I’m free to enjoy the weekend. I’m back in the studio on Monday though, and whatever time I have until Tuesday evening, I will either be drawing webtoon ads or working loosely on my next project.

You debuted on Naver Webtoon in 2011 with A Bittersweet Life, but your life before that was far from drawing webtoons.
When I was a kid, I enjoyed comic books and I studied at an atelier for my college entrance exams, but I never imagined I could be a webtoon artist. I began drawing only after I started a one-man business creating character designs for things like phone accessories. Sales were abysmal, and I realised I needed more exposure.

I created a webtoon that shared a name with what I was trying to sell, and posted it here and there, including on Naver Webtoon. I even put a hyperlink under each post so interested readers would come to buy my goods. I had been doing that for just over a year when Naver Webtoon sent me an email proposing an official serial project. I basically closed my business account as soon as I read that email!

You debuted Yumi’s Cells in 2015. What sparked the idea for the individual braincells that move Yumi?
My wife was brainstorming with me for my next project and I joked about her ideas, saying “not to grind gears that won’t turn”. As soon as I said that I envisioned all these personified braincells trying to grind gears. I liked that, and my wife and I put our heads together to come up with more braincells. That was where Yumi came from.

More than a hundred individual cells live in Yumi’s head. For instance, Mole Cell has to point out a mole on a person’s face.
Close friends tell each other those things, you know? “Hey you’ve got something there,” and you’ll respond “Oh, there is? I didn’t know!” and so on. So Mole Cell was created specifically for that one role. I shouldn’t have though. If I could do it all again, I would create less cells than I have.

Love Cell is Yumi’s prime cell. Unsurprisingly, the webtoon’s main plot revolved around love. Why did you choose love to have that role?
I think love and dating as a theme is a great, well-rounded way to explore human emotions. How things do or don’t work out while dating can really show your true emotional range. It also affects work. I mean, it did for me, at least. In the end, Yumi’s love life and work were the two main plot drivers and they played off each other quite a bit.

Yumi’s prime cell is Love Cell. Can you tell us what your prime cell is?
One-Step-Behind Cell, for sure. The best ideas come to me only after I’ve submitted my work. I’ll send it, but immediately realise that if I’d done the episode another way it would have been epic!

Many fans of Yumi’s Cells were not webtoon readers previously, and don’t identify themselves as such. What do you think it’s so popular?
That’s an easy question, because it’s obviously because of my Awesome Cell! Seriously though, I think it’s empathy – the “cell” thing is secondary. For instance, for the story where Yumi goes travelling with her love interest; I try to find points of resonance that actual dating couples can relate to. You know, the ones where you go, “no way, that’s just like that one time”.

From paperback comic books to webtoons, the medium of comics continues to evolve. What’s the appeal of webtoons?
Webtoons are highly accessible – any place, any time. For the creator, it comes with a channel they can interact with. The “like” buttons and comments are immediate barometers to how the readers feel, and that has great merit.

Have reader reactions ever affected the plot?
Comments have a huge effect on me. There was a character that I had planned for only a few episodes and was going to remove, but the comments section got really into him and I was sort of pressured into keeping him around for longer. But one rebellious day, I removed Babi from the story. He was a very lukewarm character who brought very little to the story, so it was good riddance.

Yumi’s Cells was one of the first to pilot the slideshow format on Naver Webtoon. It was a move away from the downward scrolling format of previous webtoons. How was that transition for you?
I wasn’t sure how to tackle it at first. For the scrolling format, long vertical cuts would make for less negative space (margins), but slideshow cuts were square, and that requires a more intentional, structured approach. Basically it’s more drawing and trying to figure out composition, such as where the speech bubbles go. I got used to it though and I absolutely enjoy this format.

What makes a good webtoon? Do you have any golden rules or fundamentals you work by?
I think a good webtoon is an enjoyable one. Fundamentals is a heavy word, but I try to be easy reading – something that’s enjoyable and readable while on a train or bus. Minimal text is another thing, because I myself tend to lose interest when there is too much text. I try and make it easy reading for me, and that’s usually easy for others as well.

Technology is a huge boost for aspiring webtoon authors. What advice would you give them?
If you catch a brilliant idea, don’t put it back in the water for later; reel it in and publish your webtoon. Too many artists are stuck at the preparation stage, overthinking it. It’s far more important to get your work out there and to get feedback. It doesn’t matter what you think is good or bad, because you’re not the reader. It can be uncomfortable, but a webtoon author must pay close attention to their readers and adapt according to their response.