Kim Hwanyoung was born in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, in 1959, grew up in Seoul, and currently lives in a rural area. Kim studied Western Painting at Hongik University and has worked on the children's books Paper Rice, The Hen who Dreamed She Could Fly,and The Children who Swallowed the Sun,thepicture books Dad Catches Butterflies, Cornand Sliced Sweet Potato,and the children's comics A Ball Kicked by a Dwarf. He also published the collection of children's poems, Black Flower.