March 4, 2026
Disabled And Here Illustrator: Interview with Sunmi
Hi! How would you like to introduce yourself?
I’m Sunmi, a cartoonist, author, illustrator, and zinemaker based in Baltimore. I’m also queer, Korean, and was born and raised in the East Bay Area of California. I was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2016 and have since been dealing with concurrent conditions such as prediabetes, but my most prominent disabling symptom is neuropathy.
Do you have any favorite sources for inspiration, whether they’re general media or just life?
Definitely enjoy a lot of media, but these days I feel like my most vital sources of inspiration are people, music, and nature. I have been exploring a lot of activities around those things, anything that gives me a feeling of embodiment. In particular, I have been ruminating on how acts like singing, dancing, and drawing can be trained, but also have an instinctual quality that humans tap into from childhood.
Ooh, do you have any favorite songs at the moment, to either sing or dance to?
Most recently for singing: the jazz standard Blue Moon. Most recently for dancing: Busca Por Dentro by Grupo Niche. My partner and I listen to Latin radio in the car sometimes and that’s where I first heard it. It also came up again a couple weeks ago at a Tuesday salsa night that my friend always invites me to go to!
Similarly but also separately, what brings you joy or helps you recharge in general (when you just need a break)?
Again haha – singing, dancing, nature hiking, but also lately MMA fighting & ice skating! I also always enjoy getting a nice drink and catching up with a friend or reading a book, seeing a show together with someone or by myself.
How would you say your lived experiences have influenced your art?
Recently, I shifted to feel that it’s not necessarily that my lived experiences influence my art, but art is how I process life and expand my perspective of the world. This is what makes human art so powerful and sublime to me, that the drawing or melody of someone you know could move you more than any famous artist in the world if you love that person.
Can you do a bit of world-building for the illustration you created for our Disabled And Here: Possible Futures series?
Yes! I grew up going to public Korean saunas in California and when we visited relatives in Seoul. There once was one here in Baltimore, in a semi-abandoned mall that unfortunately is closed down now.
In my ideal, gender-liberated future, everyone can have a personal hot tub or go to fully accessible saunas to ease their physical pain and relax. In this illustration, I imagined that through an ergonomic, magical bath with special features and healing water.
If there was a more magical universe, what kind of superpower would you want most?
Teleportation and shapeshifting! It’s a toss-up between the two. I might want shapeshifting a little more.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
There’s a man named Samuil who lives alone with his dogs in the Siberian wilderness of Yakutia, the coldest inhabited place on earth. Ever since I watched a video series, I think of him often now. My next book is about grappling with conflicting internal desires for connection and isolation, though not in such an extreme situation as his.
Final question: what are the best ways to support you and your work going forward?
You can find or request to get my first YA graphic novel Firebird at your local independent bookstore or library, or follow my work at sunmiflowers.com or @sunmi_comics on Instagram. I’m always available to commission for art, teaching workshops, and school visits. Thank you!