King's Maker Creators Haga and Jiyoung Kang Share How It's All About Love

The world of digital Korean comics is infamously demanding as full-colored chapters are released weekly. Writer and illustrator duo, Haga and Jiyoung Kang, share insights on how they work together on their popular Korean BL series, King's Maker. Currently, the series and its sequel, cumulatively boasts over 3.3M views on Tappytoon. But how were the two able to divide the work between themselves and stay ahead of the intense deadlines?

Originally released in 2017, King's Maker grabbed the attention of readers worldwide with the dramatic story between leads Wolfgang and Soohyuk. The rich worldbuilding, the variety of characters, and the illustrated landscapes gave the setting more depth than other series at the time. Yet, creating the world behind King's Maker wasn't easy. Even during the two years between the release of the first King's Maker series and the sequel, the two authors didn't rest; both Jiyoung Kang and Haga were working that entire time. They built out their story and finished episodes far ahead of their deadlines so that they wouldn't end up rushing to complete a chapter before release.

At AnimeNYC 2025, Haga and Jiyoung Kang spoke to Anime News Network on the origins of King's Maker, their working relationship, and how they stay afloat without burning out.

How did your partnership as writer and illustrator begin? I've read that some other authors find illustrators through social media, but did you already know each other before working on King's Maker?

Jiyoung Kang: We have such a unique piece of work. We share the responsibility 50/50 for the story and illustration. That kind of framework is unique. Also, we were friends before that.

Haga: I was a fan of hers when she completed her first [comic], and she was my fan as well. But we didn't know we were readers of each other's work. Later, we shared our hobbies and exchanged illustrations and manhwa. We found each other and began working together. We're both able to do illustration work as well as the story. That's why it came out as this masterpiece.

The story also includes violence and mature themes, such as Soohyuk's forced slavery and abuse by the king when he was a teacher. The trauma stays with him for most of the story, and he finds it hard to trust others. Why did you want to focus on that aspect of Soohyuk's character, where he goes from being reserved to becoming more trusting and open later on?

Haga: No one is perfect. I believe that each person needs to rely on one another to grow together, and they can fill in the gaps together. Wolfgang learned a lot from Soohyuk Shin to become a king. Soohyuk was healed because he met Wolfgang.

Kang: I believe all of the hardship in their childhood was the foundation of their growth.

On the other hand, Wolfgang is almost the complete opposite as an honest, brazen person. He's very bold when it comes to his affection and kissed Soohyuk in front of a room full of people. If he didn't use his magic blessing to make Soohyuk's glasses, what would he have used his third blessing for?

Haga: It sounds very comic or story-like, but I believe it would be used for Soohyuk's safety. No matter what it was, it would be used for his sake.

At the beginning of the story, Wolfgang and Soohyuk are teenagers and progress into adulthood as the story continues. Why did you want to start with young characters rather than adult characters?

Haga: I believe that the childhood stage is crucial. I wanted to depict the message that all you need is one person to help you become better.

What inspired the fantasy story and setting, and the different couples of King's Maker?

Kang: Our theme is love. We wanted to illustrate the variety and forms of love. Despite being classified as BL, there are heterosexual couples and a GL couple in the story as well. We wanted to express as much as possible.

Haga: We not only expressed through the romantic forms of love, but we also wanted to show the way grandparents love their grandkids. And also the love between non-human beings and human beings. This is the comprehensive form of love, I believe.

Webtoon and manga schedules are known to be very intense, as the work must be fully colored upon release. Some artists in the manga/webtoon industry have shared their packed schedules, but could you share your working schedule individually, between writing, sharing ideas, and then also drawing out the scenes for a single chapter?

Kang: We write a story together, and when we confirm the script, we set up the contents. The next step is line work and color. Finally, we add the finishing touches. Before that, we shared all of the steps with each other. If Haga gives me the script, I can give her the draft content. If she approves, then I will give her the line art. If she gives me the coloring, I can do the editing. Sometimes she can put in the sound effects.

Haga: When I receive the line work, I might find parts I want to change; I'll fix them and make changes before giving it back. Sometimes, if I find that the scene is better suited for her to work on, even if it was originally designated as my job, I can refer that job to her because she's skilled at it. At first, we would have a meeting, but later on, we came to a mutual understanding, and it became natural to bounce back and forth.

How long does it take, in total, to make one chapter?

Kang: Approximately six days.

Haga: Sometimes it takes more than a week to complete one work. When I do the first stage of the work, she does the second stage. Also, we exchange ideas with each other, and we're able to cut the work in half.

Kang: Because we are two people.

Did the chapters originally come out weekly? It seems very intense to finish the work in six days and have it published on the seventh day.

Kang: It was doable.

Haga: Most importantly, we set the completion of any given scene. We prepare for the ending scene so that some other facts don't sway us because we know what our target is.

Was there a point where you were burned out and you needed to take a break?

Kang: Can I speak lightly? I usually go to karaoke by myself. Haga, as far as I know, goes to the arcade for games like DDR or Pump It Up. We have our own methods.

Haga: We never push each other because we have trust in each other.

From your busy schedule, the first series of King's Maker ran in 2017 for 7 months and came back in 2019 for the sequel series, King's Maker: Triple Crown. Did you decide to make the sequel early on?

Kang: Yes, that's correct, we decided on the sequel first.

Haga: In fact, we set Triple Crown first before the King's Maker series, and it serves as the prequel rather than the sequel.

Did you decide when to rest, like taking a two-year break in between King's Maker and King's Maker: Triple Crown?

Haga: When we were in the middle of the series, we determined that we're not going to delay. We tried to have more saved-up episodes, meaning we worked far ahead, and the prep time took longer than we expected. It ultimately took about two years.

There is both an all-ages version and a mature version that came later for King's Maker: Triple Crown. The mature version includes redrawn or even new scenes. How did you decide what to change between the two versions?

Kang: Because we planned King's Maker: Triple Crown first, the mature, uncensored one, however…

Haga: King's Maker dealt with teenagers as the leads were teens and was for all ages. As such, many readers are underage. If we only had the mature version for King's Maker Triple Crown, then we would be abandoning the underage readers. That's why we have two different versions.

Kang: The difference is that it contains that (laughs).

The series puts a lot of thought into designs that are integrated into the story, the use of magic, and worldbuilding. There are many shots of the landscape and background, which is rare for a manhwa/webtoon series due to the significant effort required. Why did you want to include such a detailed world?

Haga: The story includes the different themes of love, and different kinds of love have different characteristic traits. We believe that it needs to be set as a fantasy for the worldview to be there because it binds them all together. That's why there are so many different scenes and scenery added on.

How much of the world did you plan out before writing the story?

Kang: Well, this is a very interesting story for the readers. In our worldview, there's a map. There's a 2D version and a 3D version. There was a preset as to which building faces which direction. These were predetermined. When you notice that, you'll discover different things. We had that much planned out. What direction you're looking at, what you see when you look at it from a certain angle. As for the outfits, there are many different kinds because Haga has particular things she wants to express, including the letters and written language.

Haga: We approached this story as a play, like a pretend play or a hobby. That's why we included an abundance of things in the story. I believe it takes about one or two years to build out a world. For the first year, we just played with it. There are so many things in this world that we ended up deciding that all this material could become a piece of work.

King's Maker received a physical print in both Korean and English. How do you feel about the international success and reception of your series?

Haga: Haga: Because the theme is many different kinds of love, it's meaningful for us to receive a unique love for our work. King's Maker is so accepted and beloved by many different people in different countries.

Kang: When I work this kind of job, I receive many SNS messages. These messages were composed in many foreign languages. I was able to figure out that they love it. In fact, we were mesmerized and surprised because they love us so much.

ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2025 is sponsored by Yen Press!