Open any episode of The Remarried Empress and three names keep appearing in the credits: Alphatart, Sumpul, and HereLee. You may recognize all of them, but who wrote the story, who draws the webtoon, and what does “adapted by” actually mean?
Let us put each name in the right place. It is a lovely way to meet the team behind the series and understand why the web novel and webtoon are not quite the same edition.
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Quick answer: who created The Remarried Empress?
- Alphatart is the author of the original web novel.
- Sumpul is the webtoon artist.
- HereLee is credited with adapting the story for the webtoon.
All three names appear in WEBTOON’s official credits. Naver Series, which hosts the Korean web novel, identifies Alphatart as the author of the original work.
Alphatart: author of the original story
The Remarried Empress began as a Korean web novel. Alphatart created its story, characters, and the political world surrounding Navier. Naver Series lists the official novel as complete at 337 episodes.
This clears up one very common mix-up: the illustrated volumes sold by Ize Press and Planeta Cómic are not prose novels. They are print editions of the manhwa, the comic adaptation of Alphatart’s story.
If you are still choosing where to begin, our guide to the novel and official editions will help you sort out the different formats.
Sumpul: the art of the webtoon
WEBTOON credits Sumpul as the artist of The Remarried Empress. Her work brings the story into vertical-scroll format and gives faces, clothes, expressions, and settings to a world that began in prose.
For many fans, this was the first version of the story we met. It also explains why readers may remember a moment differently depending on whether they came from the novel or the webtoon: each format has its own rhythm and way of telling a scene.
HereLee: turning a novel into webtoon episodes
HereLee is officially credited with the adaptation. That role helps reshape a long novel into episodes designed to work as a comic: scenes need to be arranged, pacing has to feel right, and the storytelling must make sense visually.
It does not replace the author or artist. It is another part of the same team: Alphatart provides the original work, HereLee brings it into webtoon form, and Sumpul builds its visual world.
Why the credits change between editions
The web novel, digital comic, and print books all tell the same larger story, but each edition brings in more people. Translated releases may also credit translators, letterers, and editors.
Ize Press lists Alphatart, Sumpul, and HereLee for its English books, along with Shirley Chen as letterer. Planeta Cómic credits Laura Vicente Díaz as the translator of its Spanish edition. Those may look like small lines on a copyright page, but they represent the work that lets more fans enjoy the series.
Where to find the credits and read the series
- Naver Series: the original Korean web novel.
- WEBTOON English: the official English comic.
- WEBTOON Spain: the official Spanish comic.
- Ize Press: the English print catalog.
Sources checked on August 17, 2026. Remarried Empress Fans is an unofficial fan project and is not affiliated with WEBTOON, Naver, Ize Press, or the rights holders.
Which version introduced you to the story first: the web novel or the webtoon? Come tell us in the comments.
