Hello, I’m Sanho, a cartoonist and illustrator. I’ve created works including the comics And the Witch Went into the Forest and Nanani in a Glass Bottle , and have continued to take on a wide range of projects from book covers to film posters. I’m delighted to be introduced to you through this illustration project for AMOREPACIFIC STORIES.

A. Drawing inspiration from the beautiful scenery of the Osan Botanic Garden, I created two illustrations set against the backdrop of the garden and the factory within it. One captures a young girl who has just discovered the factory building rising beyond a lush expanse of greenery and a wide, open lake. The other weaves in the story of the landscape manager who actually tends to the botanic garden day to day.

Learning that Amorepacific’s origins trace back to camellia oil left a deep impression on me, and I wanted to weave camellia blossoms throughout both pieces. I also couldn’t help thinking that researching how to transform plants into finished products must feel like an expedition. So, in one piece, I captured that spirit of adventure by depicting a figure from behind, walking toward the factory. For the illustration featuring the landscape manager, I drew on the style of traditional Korean folk painting, placing swallows, the harbingers of spring, alongside the plants to render the garden’s scenery with fresh, distinctive detail.

A. I find real joy in the process of weaving an otherworldly dimension into the fabric of everyday scenes. When I place fantastical figures — witches, fairies, beings from another world — into ordinary settings, something curious happens: even knowing they aren’t real, I find myself growing strangely fond of them. I hope that people who encounter my work will notice that peculiar atmosphere these unfamiliar beings carry, and discover the beauty that emerges from their constant collision with reality.

A. Whenever I travel abroad, I always make a point of visiting the local botanical gardens and parks. So when I heard there was an ingredient botanic garden in Osan, I knew right away I had to go. The idea of encountering many different plants all in one place was exciting enough on its own, but what really struck me was that these were plants actually used as ingredients in real cosmetic products. It brought to mind the kind of herbalist’s garden you might find in a fantasy novel or film. From the name itself to the space’s landscape, it was a place that sparked the imagination at every turn.

A. Thinking about what beauty looks like beyond the passage of time — what endures unchanged — I came to feel that the message was really an invitation to discover the beauty that each of us already carries within. To me, beauty isn’t something defined by an absolute standard. It’s a value that shifts depending on who is doing the looking. The beauty inside you that only your own perspective can uncover. I think that’s what ‘my own beauty’ truly means.

A. There are moments when the world tries to define us not by who we are, but by external standards that have nothing to do with us. That’s where prejudice takes root. To me, ‘my own beauty’ means stepping outside of those frameworks and looking at what is genuinely and uniquely mine — not through the eyes of others, but through my own.

A. Since I spend so much time working alone, I try to keep a steady routine. I set fixed times for waking up and eating, and I make a real effort to get enough sleep. But more than anything, I think the most important thing is going into whatever you’re doing with the intention of finding enjoyment in it. The more solitary the work, the more essential it becomes to find your own reasons to love it.

A. Beyond the themes that AMOREPACIFIC STORIES pursues, the opportunity to introduce and reimagine the beauty of Korean tradition through an illustration project like this is genuinely meaningful to me, both as a personal creative endeavor and as an illustrator based in Korea. I was genuinely delighted when the invitation first arrived. I’m deeply grateful that this work allows me to connect with so many different worlds.

A. In comics and TV dramas, you often come across the line, “What does it even mean to be yourself?” It’s a question that may follow us for a lifetime. I don’t have a complete answer myself. But whenever I’m doing something I genuinely love, a quiet certainty rises — a feeling that says, “Yes, this is me.” I hope that everyone reading this finds that feeling often, in the things they choose to do.