In case you missed it... ORKA featured in a Webtoon Guide interview found HERE. I am translating it for anyone interested!
(Interview starts below the Keep Reading line)
Interview with ORKA, author of "A Stepmother's Marchen" by Hong Chorong | November 22, 2025, 2:00 PM
Meet the Writer of the Moment Vol. 248
A tale where delicate emotions captured by the tip of a pen
meet the solidarity of protecting one another -
Through illustrations where even a single glance holds a story, quietly drawing in your heart
An interview with ORKA, the author of "A Stepmother's Marchen"
Starts now!
[INTRO]
Q. ORKA! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to interview you! Before we start the interview, could you give us a brief introduction of yourself?
A. My name is ORKA, I am the artist behind the series "A Stepmother's Marchen" on KakaoPage. It's nice to meet you! It's a pleasure to be here for the interview.
[ABOUT ORKA]
Q. How did you come up with the pen name "ORKA"?
A. When I chose my pen name, it was simply because I liked the sound of it. It has a K instead of a C, which is one of my initials. Every time people ask me about my pen name, I always think it could stand to be a little more complex, but now I've grown attached to it.
Q. Do you have any particular behind the scenes stories to share about what led you become a webtoon illustrator in "A Stepmother's Marchen"?
A. I knew becoming a webtoon illustrator wasn't an easy job to take on. So I never thought I'd become one, until I was commissioned to draw the prologue for the original novel. The agency gave me a brief introduction to the story at first. After I finished illustrating the prologue, I received an offer to go into further detail and work on the main story. (At the time, I didn't think it'd go on for this long)
Q. There must be a significant difference between working on a single illustration and working on a webtoon, which involves weekly releases. Has your experience as an illustrator helped you in any way working on webtoons? Alternatively, what have you learned?
A. Just like illustrations, there are moments in a webtoon where there is a single panel that carries the weight of a scene. (cont. under image)
(cont.) Being able to come up with these moments and complete them in a relatively short amount of time is thanks to my experience as an illustrator. Aside from that, everything else that's included in the process of making a webtoon- like storyboarding, drawing, and directing was a new experience.
Q. Do you have any special rituals or exercises you do before you work? Are there any specific songs or media you listen to as you work?
A. "Ritual" is an interesting way to put it. I do have a "wake-up ritual" where I lie half-asleep, only getting up when my dog asks to go outside! Caffeine is an absolute must when it comes to work, so perhaps my ritual is to make a cup of coffee before I start working.
I listen to music on the daily, and I'm not picky about genres. Sometimes I listen to BLACKPINK's Jump and then suddenly I switch to Schumann's Träumerei. There are times when I'm hooked on a single song while working on a chapter, and I end up listening to that one song over and over again. For example, the song for the end of Part 2: Oratorio was Mozart's Requiem (Lacrimosa), and the song for Part 3's Duel of Honor was M83's OUTRO. (it's also in the intro of the Netflix series Versailles, which I also enjoy) I have a personal playlist called "ASM" that I usually play when I get stuck directing a scene.
Q. How did you develop your unique drawing style and sense of atmosphere? Are there any artists or illustrations that have influenced or inspired you?
A. I like this topic, can I go off about this for a minute? The art I was exposed to during my childhood had a huge influence over my art style. Many artists come to mind, including those from JUMP, but I was most influenced by Hisashi Hirai who designed for "Infinite Ryvius." I also really like the style and sensibility expressed in Ragawa Marimo's "Baby and Me." They're all pretty old stuff!
When it comes to works that inspire me in terms of story and comics, I think of TONO's "Calvania Story" and the immersive worlds of authors Yoon Taeho and Yang Youngsoon, and Seaweed's "Chicken is Surprisingly Great." "Also "Yeohye" by Beenary also comes to mind, and I also enjoyed the overall works of Neonbi and Caramel. As well as Gold Kiwi Bird's "Medina" and Orbal's "Surviving in the Harem."
It's become something like a personal filibuster, it's hard to pinpoint exactly where, what, or how I gained my personal style. Every piece is so amazing and inspiring, that if anyone reading this interview was intrigued by any of them, I truly hope that you check them out.
Q. Are there any features that you're constantly researching to enhance the details and tone of your illustrations?
A. I'm constantly looking for ways to create more quality work, more quickly. Because I'm balancing so many things, like storyboarding, lineart, coloring, and post-processing, reducing even one step in the the workflow can be crucial. (Starting Season 3, my talented assistants Lili (lineart) and 7H (shading) have been a huge help! Thank you!)
I'm always brainstorming if there might be a better way to work and lately, I've been interested in utilizing 3D assets in my artwork.
I'm used to drawing by hand, but I'm modernizing my approach.
Q. Please show us your studio where your masterpieces are born!
A. The main monitor in the center, a secondary monitor displaying my schedule and reference material, a tablet, Pomodoro timer, sticky notes, notebooks, and reference materials.
Soo.....I saw like Twitter post discussing how like in Ch 74 (yes I am reading it for the 60th time again) where Ali tells Rachel about how his brothers kinda kill themselves for the throne or smth and then Ch 54 where like Halima (my mother) says "No one tormented you, right? Oh well...they would have been gone" (in short of getting killed?) sooo...maybe Ali's brothers........did smth......
Idk since it's hiatus and we all are going through starvation, hallucination etc etc, I thought of sharing this , what do you think?
Hmmm... it's pretty plainly written that the brothers killed each other fighting over an inherited treasure (the throne). In my mind, I like to think that Ali was probably born after the happened, in an attempt to save the bloodline (because of coooourse a WOMAN can't be king, right?), which explains why Ali is so much younger than Halima.
With their father being quite old and less likely to continue having more kids, it's highly likely that Ali, the last surviving and viable heir to the throne would be fiercely protected by the Safavid Empire. It's to no surprise to me that they would probably execute or banish anyone that offended him or looked at him funny.
So in my mind, I don't see the possibility that the brothers' deaths being caused by an act of rebellion against Ali. If anything, the opposite (Ali dying by rebelling his older siblings) would've been more possible.
Unless... you meant it in a different way? But i still don't think they were executed by any greater authority... I think they just killed each other.
“Every day I lose my beautiful days… and I die in this war.” 😭💔
I'm not okay.
I don't sleep, I don't eat, I don't breathe like other people do.
I just count what's left of me... and wait.
Will I die today? 😭
Will a missile fall on me and end this pain once and for all?
Will I lose my son, still swimming in my belly, searching for a beating heart, a small dream, a chance to survive?
But I have nothing for him… no milk, no roof, no safety… only my fear. 💔
Yesterday, I saw in my dream a child reaching out his hand to me, saying, "Mom, save me."
I woke up screaming...
But no one heard me.💔
I buried my brothers with my own hands, I washed my mother with my tears, I saw my father burning and I couldn't put out the fire. Today, I'm waiting for my turn. 😭💔
There's no room in my body for bullets, but war resides in my eyes, in my womb, in my silence, in every heartbeat I hear from inside my belly. Even hope no longer visits me, even prayer has become faint. 💔
Please...
Help me before I become another silence on this weary earth.
Help me before this child loses his mother... just as I lost everything.
I am Michelle from Greece, and I am running a campaign for Asmaa. Please consider donating if you can to help them.
Also, my husband is between life and death and I am helpless 💔
I am the wife of a man who was never just a husband… He was my support, my hope, and my everything in this cruel world. And today, as I write these words, my heart breaks for him as he battles his illness without medicine, without a hospital bed, and without even the reassurance of peace.
My husband has severe pneumonia, and hepatitis is eating away at his body day after day. His ability to breathe is no longer what it used to be, and his chest pain wakes him up terrified. As for me, all I can do is wipe away his sweat and hide my tears.😭
I watch my loved one wither away in front of me, and I don't have the money, the support, or even a safe place to rest my head. We count his breaths in prayer, hoping he'll hold on for another day... that someone will come... that someone will hear us. 💔😭
I appeal to those with compassionate hearts, those who have the ability to help, do not delay. A human life is in your hands, and my husband does not need much, just hope... just medicine... just a chance to live.
My name is Aisha, a mother of eight children, struggling to survive in the midst of war and destruction. We once had a home, a place of warmth and safety. We had a small butcher shop where we earned an honest living. But the war took everything from us. The Israeli army destroyed our home, and an airstrike bombed our shop, leaving us with nothing—no shelter, no income, no security.
My widowed daughter lives with me. She lost her husband to the Israeli army, and her child has never seen his father. My youngest baby, only seven months old, suffers from a sebaceous cyst near his ear that requires surgery, but I cannot afford the cost.
Every day is a fight for survival. We search for food, for shelter, for a glimpse of hope in this endless darkness. My children need clothing, they need food, they need a chance at a normal life like any other child in the world.
I am reaching out to humanity, pleading for help. Any support, no matter how small, could save us, could bring back hope to our shattered lives.
We are a family of ten, including helpless infants, living in constant displacement. We’ve moved more than ten times, searching for safety, only to find torn tents, dry land, and an uncertain future.
We have no home, no enough food, and not even clean water. Our children go to sleep hungry and wake up crying from pain and illness. They suffer from severe malnutrition, and there is no medicine or milk available.
We are surrounded by the stench of sewage, swarms of insects, and relentless mosquitoes. Every day we survive is a miracle. Every hour without a new tragedy is a blessing.
Today, I share this message because we are on the edge. We are not asking for much — just enough to survive, just enough to protect our children’s dignity.
even the smallest amount, can change everything. It can save a child from hunger, or give a baby a chance to live.
Please, help us. Be the light in our darkest hour.
I am Elizabeth, and I am fundraising on behalf of Aisha and her family from Gaza. Here is her message:"My name is Aisha Rabah, I am 42 years
✅️Vetted by @gazavetters✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #358 )✅️, my number verified on the list is ( #358 )✅️
✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #358 )✅️
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