By Honorary Reporters Ivana Alzaga from Mexico and Anabel Caballero from Peru
Photos = Kildren

Kildren is an artist who is famous for his unique portraits of K-pop idols such as BTS, Jay Park and BLACKPINK and international stars like Harry Styles, The Weeknd and Billie Eilish.

 
Born Kim Seok-won, the artist displayed an ability to paint from a young age thanks to his art-devoted family, and his famed "BTS: Love Yourself" portraits are part of the group's official merchandise. His workplace is in Korea.

This artist is well known among BTS fans worldwide. This is the reason why we decided to interview him. The following are excerpts from a May 4 email interview with Kildren on his artistic background and how he got to work with the K-pop boy band.

You post your portraits of Korean and international artists on your social media. How do you choose whom to paint?
I consider the impact an artist or act has had on my life. It's always a challenging decision since a lot of people inspire me.

Between the traditional and digital techniques you use, which do you prefer?
I have no preference as each method has pros and cons. Both techniques are familiar to me, so what I often do is use what's most appropriate for what I am creating.

Kildren says he uses both traditional and digital techniques when creating a work and chooses the method that is most suitable for what he is working on.

I've been drawing all my life. Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to do major collaborations with Nike and K-pop artists such as G-Dragon. I always try to work in a humble manner, something that I believe has paid off over the years."

Kildren collaborated with BTS to create portraits of each member as part of the group's official merchandise

Your portraits of BTS for the group's official collection quickly sold out. How did you get this opportunity?

I had the chance to work with BTS before, but my busy schedule prevented this. Five years later, the group contacted me again, and by that time, I was an Army member, aka a fan of the group. The process was thorough but the result proved successful. And I donated the profits from the sale of my BTS portraits to the Korean Animal Welfare Association.

Kildren also worked unique portraits of international stars like The Weeknd.

Do you plan to hold an exhibition?

If I have the chance, I will definitely do so. I'm working on collaborations with other K-pop artists that are confidential for now, but will release all information on future collaborations on social media. I also want to work with artists who have both impressed and inspired me. 

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.