Webtoon artist Lee Mal-yeon is gone now. YouTuber Chimchakman officially announced his retirement from webtoon artistry.
The MBC program 'Radio Star,' aired on the 20th, was themed 'An Chimchakman,' featuring Go player Lee Sedol, Super Junior's Kim Heechul, YouTuber Chimchakman, and Chef Napoli Mamfia grants.
On that day's broadcast, Kim Guk-jin asked Chimchakman, 'Don't you think you will draw cartoons again?' To this, Chimchakman replied, 'I have stopped drawing comics, and I have no plans.' This means that Chimchakman has effectively declared his retirement from webtoon artistry.
How did Chimchakman debut as 'Lee Mal-yeon'? Chimchakman explained, 'I worked under the pen name Lee Mal-yeon. The late-term conscript does not have set tasks each day, so I liked that way of life. When living, there is always a need for a mission, but the late-term conscript doesn't have one.'
Chimchakman continued, 'It is impossible to live as a late-term conscript while drawing webtoons. My comics actually started getting responses when I posted them on an amateur comic board, leading to offers to start creating them. Since the payment wasn't high back then, at 500,000 won per month, I balanced it with part-time jobs,' adding, 'I feel I lack expression. To express myself, I need to make constant efforts and train, but during the time to train, I discovered the appeal of internet broadcasting.'
Chimchakman stated, 'Unlike drawing, I can express myself verbally well on broadcasts, so I got into internet broadcasting instead.' He noted that he will continue to be active as a YouTuber. Chimchakman remarked, 'There are people waiting for me, so I've made it clear that I have definitively stopped drawing comics. Therefore, I introduce myself as a former webtoon artist and a current YouTuber.'
Born in 1983, Lee Mal-yeon's real name is Lee Byung-geon, and he has been active as a webtoon artist since January 2009. He has serialized works such as the 'Lee Mal-yeon Series' and 'Lee Mal-yeon Journey to the West' under the pen name 'Lee Mal-yeon,' and he has been broadcasting on YouTube under the name 'Chimchakman' since 2014. His subscriber count is about 4.16 million.
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