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Hyejin Lee was in the world of corporate finance for one long decade.
Now, she draws cutesy wieners.
“I thought I had to live a life like that to survive,” Hyejin says. “I think at some point in everyone’s life, you’re like, ‘What is my purpose?’ I think it reached a threshold for me of what is my life? How is this meaningful in any way? I realized corporate didn’t make me happy, so I ventured into my creative side.
“My dad and my sister are both accountants and my mom is a ceramicist so it kind of makes sense where the creative side comes in,” she says. “Me having a heavy Asian background, I thought being an artist or being creative to make money wasn’t an option so I struggled for a very long time, but I do think it got to a point where I chose my value as a person versus what I thought I should do as a human.”
Hyejin is the artist behind Girthy Gochu, a line of artwork featuring punny penis illustrations that made its debut in 2023. “Gochu” is Korean for chili pepper — but it can also be slang for wiener.
“I always had this idea because I kept drawing weenies at parties or to friends and it would just get a big reaction out of people,” she says. “So, when I wanted to do something with art, I knew I needed to pick my style and that’s just what stuck out to me. I think it was so different than what everybody else was doing. I think even as a young person, I liked to stand out and I think drawing weenies was so funny and got people paying attention. I think for all of us, we can’t look away from very absurd things so it brought out a lot of my childhood jokes.”
Initially, Hyejin had anxiety about what people would say about her chonky illustrations and NSFW sayings that sit alongside them — but the reaction of customers is actually what makes it all worth it.
“I was prepared mentally, knowing people won’t accept me and my art, but I realized I can’t just continue to do the same thing because then I’m going to be stuck in the same place again like I did with corporate,” she says. “I’m still living that adversity of not being accepted sometimes but I realize this is what I decided to do. I’m more amazed with how far I’ve gotten.”
In fact, most people shower her with compliments — thank-yous and “This is such a funny idea!” and “I’m so happy you did this.” It’s not uncommon to see her vendor booth crowded with people, both in Tucson and during the out-of-state conventions she’s attended.
“That solidifies that this is what I was meant to do even if it’s silly,” she says. “It’s like a weird universal connection, a full-circle moment of — I have purpose.”
When Girthy Gochu launched, Hyejin started with stickers, prints and ceramic desk buddies, but her shop has since evolved to include ornaments, hats and tote bags. She tries to work with local partners as much as she can, especially after tariff changes this year.
“I know that’s more costly, but I don’t have a big business. This is for me to feel fulfillment in my life and I realize people appreciate handmade things and they love that more than anything,” she says. “Even if I can’t produce as much, I think people are willing to wait. The other side of it was, I’m working closely with these local vendors that I’ve met through markets and they’re helping me make merch. I realize the money I would’ve spent for big corporations overseas … it feels good to be doing that for people doing the same things I am.”
Most recently, Hyejin released blind boxes inspired by the popularity of Labubus and Sonny Angels where consumers purchase the figurines without knowing which edition sits in the box. In true blind box fashion, Hyejin’s mystery weenie characters are also tucked inside a tearable bag for extra ASMR.
“I’ve always had that idea, but when Labubus and Sonny Angels started coming out, I was like, it would be so fun if I did that with my characters — even before (the trend) was really big and when it was smaller in the Asian community,” Hyejin says.
The entire process is labor-intensive for her — silicon pours, sanding, drying, hand-painting — and takes about a day for one wiener figurine to be complete. She worked with local business Tom’s Rockets and Robots for help 3D-printing the figurines.
As they always do, the community came through. When Hyejin brought 25 of the newly-launched blind boxes to the Vegan Night Market in September, she sold out in 20 minutes. (She hopes to create an online preorder system for future rounds of blind boxes.)
“There were people lining up at my tent. I went into (the event) leisurely setting up at the booth and people were hovering over,” Hyejin says.
While Hyejin now works on Girthy Gochu full-time, she’s able to do it partially because of the savings she built during her days in finance. “I want people to know this isn’t — ‘you’re just going to make money!’ I don’t want to romanticize it.”
“The reason I do it is because of how people react to it,” she says. “Sometimes I stay up until 4 in the morning painting these things and I’m dying, but I keep thinking about how people react and receive it. That’s why I do this. I like making things that make people happy.”
And to the artists looking for their place in the chaos, Hyejin has some words of wisdom:
“Even if you think there’s no space for you here, there is. I’m literally drawing wieners. You shouldn’t be afraid to do what you want to do,” she says. “I’m out here doing it, so I don’t want other people to feel discouraged. Through the Tucson community, there’s always space for you.”
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