VOL.94/2026.05

Korean Authors

 

Imagination Sketched in Colored Pencils:
The Pencil by Author Kim Hyeeun

 

 

2026.05

 

 

Trees are felled whenever a pencil is made. Author Kim Hyeeun is a picture book author who reflects on the sacrifice of trees. Her book, The Pencil, was born from a heart that cherishes both art and nature. We interviewed Kim Hyeeun, an author who cares deeply for both her craft and the environment, to explore her imagination and thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. Was there a specific inspiration that led you to write The Pencil?

 

The Pencil is my very first book. I felt a lot of pressure and spent much time worrying about how to fully capture my own thoughts in my debut picture book. At first, I tried to create a story around grand and flashy subjects, but those attempts felt like wearing someone else’s clothes. One day, while sitting at my desk during my ordinary daily routine, a pencil on my workbench caught my eye. As I stared at it blankly for a moment, I suddenly wanted to tell its story. At that time, my work mostly involved using pencils and colored pencils to create detailed illustrations. Whenever I sharpened a dull pencil tip, I would often feel a pang of guilt for the wood falling away.

 

I discovered a contradiction in drawing trees using the very tool created by carving them. We use pencils, made through the sacrifice of actual trees, to draw forests full of trees. Then, we find comfort and feel moved by those drawings. We are looking at artistic representations of trees made by cutting down real ones. This irony fascinated me, and that is how The Pencil began. I created this story while thinking about the pencil as an entity that labors between my fingers, leaving only traces behind as its body disappears. It is a tool that is so easily within reach, but it was once a tree that stood tall and guarded its land in a vast forest.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. What kind of sensibility do you think pencils and colored pencils bring to a picture book?

 

I remember the first pencil I held as a child. I can still recall the curiosity on my face and my small, clumsy hand gripping it tight. To me, the pencil is a medium that holds purity and warmth. I love the soft scratching sound, the seogeok-seogeok and sagak-sagak, as the pencil moves across the paper, and I enjoy the light feeling of a pencil held in my hand. Even the ache in my hand after working for a long time gives me a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of "I’ve truly created something." This is why I love pencils, even if they are considered a somewhat conventional material.

 

A pencil hides a power within its small frame to create things far beyond what one might imagine. This power is not revealed to everyone; instead, it depends on the pencil's destiny. Depending on whose hand it is held by, it might become a pencil that is simply used for scribbling and then thrown away, or it could be the very tool that brings an entire forest to life.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. Your book, The Pencil, has gained significant international recognition, including being selected for the 2022 Bologna Ragazzi Amazing Bookshelf and the 2025 New York Times & New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books. What do you think is the secret behind this great success?

 

Publishing a picture book was not an easy task for me. The world is full of excellent picture books and renowned authors, and stories are consumed so rapidly that it feels as if there is nothing new left to tell. At one point, when I was trying to create something grand, I found myself unable to move forward. The Pencil was finally born when I decided to find a story from the things closest to me.

 

I believe the reason it is loved lies in the empathy that comes from a simple and familiar subject, as well as the sense of irony conveyed through my story. I also think the broad appeal of a wordless picture book, which unfolds the narrative through images alone, played a role in its popularity. These books are more accessible because they transcend generations, nationalities, and languages.

 

 

 

 

Q. Could you share your future plans and a message for the readers who love your picture books?

 

After a long period of reflection, I am now preparing my next book. To me, a picture book is "a world I have drawn." It is a collection of childhood memories and a compass for the path I follow as I live through the present. It would make me incredibly happy if readers could laugh, cry, and empathize with the stories I unfold through my illustrations.

 

There may be days when my work is overlooked, but that is okay. My stories begin with reflecting on the value of small, everyday things close to me and asking myself, "What kind of effort am I making for them?" I will continue to create the stories I want to tell from my place, quietly and steadily, crafting books that keep readers curious and eager to open them. I ask for your continued interest and support for my future work.

 

 

 

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Written by Kim Hyeeun (picturebook author)

I am a storyteller who looks closely at the things often overlooked in the familiar. I dedicate myself to creating "clothing" in the form of books for the subjects that are reimagined through the favoritism of my gaze. I hope that at the end of this gaze, warmth and resonance may always linger. I have worked on illustrations for various advertisements and media, and I am the author and illustrator of the picture book The Pencil.

Instagram: @hyeeun_aa