About Puuung | Books Published | Exhibition | Collaboration | Press | Contact

 

Born and raised in South Korea, I am a digital artist focused on illustrations and animations. I love beautiful spaces, love stories, animations, and games. Thankfully, my works have been loved worldwide.

Regardless of gender, age, or nationality, many people who see my works say, “I want to live in Puuung’s beautiful world!”. I think the reason is that my illustrations and animations show pure emotions of love that everyone relates to. I’ve been trying to capture and share little shining moments that are easily overlooked in our daily lives.

Characters called by initials such as D and M and anonymous backgrounds that make it difficult to guess a country of origin also help viewers embrace and immerse their emotions into the characters beyond different languages and cultures.

Empathy based on love and happiness in our everyday lives, I believe, is a critical factor in which my work is appreciated by people all over the world. 

 

Illustration

Thankfully, my work became known to people when my illustrations were introduced to various media worldwide in 2015. Most of my illustrations were initially sketched with pencils on paper and later completed through a digital coloring process. Some illustrations were solely created through digital methods. Recently, the number of completed works has decreased as I've focused on animation production, but I'm constantly working on them.

 

• April 2015 Love is in small things | Bored Panda
• April 2015 Heartwarming illustrations show that love is in the small things | DeMilked
• April 2015 Korea artist beautifully illustrates what real love looks like | Pulptastic
• May 2015 Artist’s illustrations remind us love is the little things | The Huffington Post
• May 2015 Heartwarming Drawings That Show What True Love Really Means | BuzzFeed
• June 2015 Gorgeous illustrations that show what love actually looks like | HelloGiggles

 

My first book was published in South Korea in 2016. Since then, nine books have been published and translated and published in eight countries. 🇰🇷 🇮🇩 🇹🇼 🇻🇳 🇹🇷 🇯🇵 🇧🇷 🇨🇳 🇵🇭 🇷🇺 Although unofficial, I made a small number of books by myself and sold them to small fans in 2014. I also opened crowdfunding on Kickstarter in 2015, and thankfully, 1,800 fans participated, so I was able to make limited edition books and postcards and send them to fans around the world.

And to make it easier for more people around the world to buy and read books, I have published paperback and Kindle Edition in English on Amazon in Aug 2020.

August 2016, my first book was featured in the Korean drama W. I remember being so excited and happy when I saw actors Han Hyo-Joo and Lee Jong-Seok opening up my book in the drama. The scene still vividly reminds me of the feelings of that time. 

January 2022, I started selling my art as digital art so that people who like my art can buy and collect my art in their collection. Finally, my art can be recognized and sold as original art! The era of new digital art has just begun.

 

Animation

The first time I uploaded an animation to my YouTube channel was in January 2017. However, in January 2018, a year later, I started uploading regularly. For about a year, I released short episodes about the daily lives of the two main characters. Later, I decided on these as season 1.

Around the summer of 2017, I wanted to show how the two main characters met and fell in love, so I thought up a scenario and released a love story in seasons 2, 3, and 4 as a prequel for more than two years from January 2019 to February 2021.

In addition, I've released several special animation series in-between. 

 

FAQ

Tell me about yourself

Hi, I’m Puuung. My real name is Dami Park. I was born in 1992 in South Korea. I've loved drawing since I was very young. I'm quiet and shy, but I was quieter when I was young. I think it was easier to draw than to speak. When I drew a picture, I felt like I was saying what I wanted to say more calmly, which was very good. I liked moving pictures because I was usually static. So I loved animation. Naturally, I went to university in an animation department, but my school life was not just fun. I wasn't very good at drawing. I knew that I wasn't good enough, so I think I worked hard on whatever the professors told me to do. I drew when they told me to draw, and I thought when they told me to think. I couldn't even refuse the excessive outsourcing foolishly. I stayed up all night drawing to finish my work somehow. This kind of life was repeated, so I ended up in a slump, and I hated the drawing that I had liked with all my heart. After I hated drawing, the whole world seemed to lose its light, as if it had faded. I thought I shouldn't live like this. So I decided to draw a picture for me even once a day. Since it was a picture for me, it was filled with things I like, such as cozy spaces, love stories, and cats. This is why I've drawn little moments of love. I started making this series into animation with the idea of doing more things that I like. Thanks to this, I'm still busy working these days.

How old were you when you first started digital art?

The first time I drew on a computer was when I was around 14. I don't remember how I got the tablet, but that was the first time I had one. I was so into drawing on a tablet with my school friends. I used the tablet all the time until high school, but it broke at some point. However, it broke down very vaguely; it wasn't possible to draw, but it was possible to color, and I had to draw on paper and color with a tablet. Even after I bought a good tablet, I have continued that method. This work process is unique, but it has become my own characteristic that reveals the sensitivity of pencil drawing well.

Do you any other hobby?

I like games. Since the Corona Pandemic, I have rarely left the house due to restrictions on outside activities, and I think I usually played games except during working hours. Not long ago, I used to enjoy Monster Hunter, and I'm enjoying Steam Games these days.

What does Puuung mean?

Puuung is an onomatopoeia that comes out when something bursts in Korean. Actually, it doesn't mean much, and I don't remember exactly when and how it was named. It's PUNG if you can spell it in English according to the original pronunciation. When I made a new ID somewhere, I entered it with PUNG, but it popped up as an already existing ID, so I made the ID by putting in a lot of U without much thought. If I had known it would continue to be used like this, I would have thought harder and built it nicely. But on the one hand, I like the pronunciation because it's cute. The word's meaning is also meaningful, but there is an atmosphere that the intonation gives. In that sense, my name is good, and it's also lovely that foreigners pronounce it awkwardly. As I have used this name for a long time, I have a lot of affection.

Where do you get inspiration?

When I think about what to draw, I first look at the background references. In the past, I used to read many architectural books and interior magazines, and these days, I look up a lot of materials through Pinterest or the internet. I think the place is essential. I believe the story that will unfold changes depending on what space the characters are in. For example, the characters' behavior depends on whether they are in the bathroom or a cafe. I determine in advance what to draw while imaging what the characters are doing in this space. I also get inspiration from daily life. I am a simple, often moved by little things. For example, I eat chocolate, stare at the beautiful moon, and talk with people I love. I get inspiration from little scenes that make me happy. It also contains my stories, things I want to do with my loved one someday, and experiences of friends and family.

Is the main characters inspired in your real life relationship?

All the characters in my work are virtual. However, I think the main characters, D, M, and Garfield, resemble me. M's innocent and playful appearance, D's sweet personality, and Garfield's laziness. It's all about me. That's why they were named after my initials. It's Dami's D and M. The reason why the two jobs are architects and scientists is a little simple. When I set up the characters, I was interested in that field. I designed M's job while listening to the stories of my architect friends. I also designed D's job with the advice of a scientist friend and a science YouTuber. B and E's jobs were also designed while making D. I wanted to show you comfortable and lovely little moments of a couple through D and M. I wanted to draw the pure appearance of falling in love for the first time through F and P, and I wanted to draw the appearance of blooming love among old friends through E and B. Many people expect that my work is my real life, but it's not true. I am not married yet, and I don't have a great house like in my drawing. Almost all backgrounds in my drawings are from my imagination.

What software do you use to produce animations?

I use Photoshop, TVPaint, After Effects, and Protools as software to make animations. To explain in more detail, I sketch the background on paper with a pencil, scan it, and then color it with Photoshop. And I make animations and color them with TVPaint. Also, I use Protools to add sound effects to the video and use After Effects as the last step to edit and complete the animation. I also use a tablet, Wacom Cintiq, as a device, and sometimes I use Procreate to draw and color on my iPad.

 

History 

2023

Aug. Reached 1,000,000 followers on TikTok
Jul. Listed my postcards in the postcard library, Poset Yeonhui
May. Reached 2,000,000 followers on Instagram
Mar. Reached 1,000,000 followers on Instagram
Jan. Started a short-form animation series on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok

2022

Nov. Release of the 2023 Desk Calendar
Sep. Where We Go was screened at the 19th Seoul Independent Animation Festival 
Jun. NFT Project - Puuung Friends 
Apr. Released a stress-free emotional healing art mobile game, Love is in the Small Things 
Jan. Started an animation series, Wherever We Go!

2021

Nov. Release of the 2022 Calendar & Poster Book through crowdfunding, Tumblbug
Sep. Reached 1,000,000 subscribers on Youtube. - Got a Gold Play Button
Jun. Started an animation series, What If...
Jun. Reached 100,000 followers on BiliBili
May. NFT Project - Puuung Little Moments

2020

Nov. Opened a perspective course on Naver Expert.
Sep. Opened paid commissions for fans to request portraits from me
Feb. Launched Official Online Shop
Jan. Started an animation series, I Miss You - Love is in Small Things Season 3

2019

Jul. Reached 1,000,000 followers on Facebook
Jan. Started an animation series, Love is in Small Things Season 2
Jan. Reached 100,000 subscribers on Youtube - Got a Silver Play Button

2018

Dec. Started an animation series, Love is All Around
Dec. Released a short animation, Puuung Christmas
May. Started an illustration series, Wherever we go!
Apr. Released a Sticker Pack that ca be used on KakaoTalk

2017

Nov. Released Puuung's Christmas Gift Set through crowdfunding, Wadiz
Oct. Started an animation series, Living with a Cat, Garfield 
Jun. Released Sticker Packs that can be used on LINE

2016

May. Opened free commissions project I'm Listening on Naver Grafolio for fans to request illustrations from me
May. Created the official poster for the 20th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival
Mar. Started a short animation series, Love is in Small Things on Youtube

2015

Nov. Appeared in a NAVER TV AD
Sep. Released Sticker Packs that can be used on Naver
Jun. Released The First Art Book through crowdfunding, Kickstarter 

2014

Jan. Started an illustrations series, Love is in Small Things online