South Korean animation, or ''aeni'' (; ko, 애니), has become an industry that produces characters for other countries' companies, exports its creations globally and generates billions of dollars in profits.

Etymology

The word ''aeni'' comes from the English word "animation" as written in

Hangeul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The ...

, 애니메이션 (aenimeisyeon), similar to

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

アニメーション (animēshon). Just like ''anime'', ''aenimeisyeon'' was shorten to ''aeni''. However, ''aeni'' usually refers to Japanese animation in colloquial usage, although it can refer to Korean animation or animation in general. To distinguish it from its Japanese counterpart, Korean animation is often called ''hanguk aeni'' ( ko, 한국 애니; lit. Korean animation) or ''guksan aeni'' ( ko, 국산 애니; lit. domestic animation). A Sino-Korean term ''manhwa yeonghwa'' ( ko, 만화영화;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 漫畫映畫), a portmanteau of

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. ...

and the Korean term for movie, is also used as a general term for all animation.

History

The South Korean animation industry was in a period of crisis throughout the 2000s. Depression at the reality of being an industry that the West merely gave factory-type drawing to begin to sink in. This followed the 1990s, a period of explosive growth for the industry when Korean studios made most of their profits from OEM, mostly from the United States, or Japan. In many ways, 2011 was a bright transitional year for Korean animation, with home-produced animated feature films finally finding box office success in South Korea, instead of facing the usual financial failure. As far as overseas export market is concerned, the likes of Rough Draft Korea (RDK) kept on landing new contracts, which have seen Rough Draft perform the manual work on over 45 popular Western cartoon titles over 16 years. South Korean animation has boomed in popularity in Eastern Asia with the success of the series ''

Pororo the Little Penguin ''Pororo the Little Penguin'' ( ko, 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로, Pporongpporong Ppororo) is a South Korean computer-animated television series. The series premiered on EBS 1 in South Korea in 2003 and ran on the channel until 2021. The series had 7 s ...

'' and '' Origami Warriors'' in 2011, leaving fans wanting to discover more Korean animations. This success is due in part to perfecting the Korean animation technique, and financial returns being reinvested into new animated products. Some Korean animators still blame the booming Korean game industry for draining the animation industry's talent pool, but the box office success of the Korean animated film '' Leafie'' in 2011 in South Korea is inspiring a new generation.

Animation industry

Animation contracts for Korean animation studios range from collaboration/minor contribution contracts, to most of the work. The South Korean animation industry can be considered dynamic as there are more than a hundred animation studios. While it is mostly firms in South Korea that contract with Western studios, some of the work is reported to be subcontracted to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

as well.

Korean animation characters in public spaces

*Larva subway was a subway based on and featured a

Larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

character. It operated from November 2014 until May 2015 on line No. 2. The Seoul government and Metro explained that they wanted to give citizens a chance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the subways opening. *Tayo buses were organized by the

Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Government d ...

, the Bus Transport Business Association, and the animation company which made

Tayo the Little Bus ''Tayo the Little Bus'' () is a South Korean computer-animated television series created by Iconix Entertainment, Educational Broadcasting System and the Metropolitan Government of Seoul. The show was produced with the help of Seoul mayor Oh Se ...

for the Public Transportation Day. In 2014, the

commissioned buses designed as the characters of Tayo the Little Bus to go around the

Gwanghwamun Square Gwanghwamun Plaza (, also known as Gwanghwamun Square) is a public open space on Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The plaza was opened on 1 August 2009 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and is part of the City's plans for environmenta ...

area of the city. *In 2014, statues of Larva and Pororo the Little Penguin were installed in World Park, which is a square in the Lotte World II Hotel. They were well received by citizens and tourist.

Market

In 2010, according to the

Korea Creative Content Agency The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) is a South Korean government agency which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is charged with governing cultural content. As part of its partnership the Export-Import Bank ...

, the Korean market share of domestic characters was about 28% and the remaining 72% was for foreign characters, such as those from Japan and USA. In 2012, experts predicted that the total market size would grow to in the near future . In 2014, the domestic character market share soared to 40% and its value in 2013 had reached .

Korean characters as international business

Before the emergence of Korean domestic characters, characters that enjoyed popularity were mostly from the United States and Japan. However, as the industry matured and grew in size, domestic characters received preference not just domestically but also internationally.

List

TV shows

* Tteodori Kkachi / 떠돌이 까치 (1987) * Kkachi's Wings / 까치의 날개 (1988) * Dooly the Little Dinosaur / 아기공룡 둘리 (1987) * Fairy Land ABC / 동화나라 ABC (1987) * Hello Kitty / 헬로 키티 (1988) * Run Hani / 달려라 하니 (1988) * Taekwon Dongja Maruchi / 태권동자 마루치 (1988) * Naughty Hani / 천방지축 하니 (1989) * 2020 Space Wonder Kiddy / 2020 우주의 원더키디 (1989) * Wizard Boy Mutterl / 머털도사 (1989) * Once Upon a Time / 옛날 옛적에 (1990) * Yeongsimi / 영심이 (1990) *General of the Earth / 흙꼭두장군 (1991) * Fly Superboard / 날아라 슈퍼보드 (1991, 1998, 2001) * Pink the Fairy / 요정 핑크 (1991) * Penking and Linking / 펭킹 라이킹 (1992) * Kori, The Son of Wizard / 마법사의 아들 코리 (1993) * School of Love / 사랑의 학교 (1994) * Koby Koby / 꼬비꼬비 (1995) * Dodami and Tori Tori / 도담이와 토리토리 (1995) * Duchi and Puku / 두치와 뿌꾸 (1996) * Cute Chocomi / 귀여운 쪼꼬미 (1996) * Soul Frame Lazenca / 영혼기병 라젠카 (1997) * The Green Chariot Hamos / 녹색전차 해모수 (1997) * Bio-Cop Wingo / 바이오캅 윙고 (1998) * LullaRarra / 룰루라라 (1998) * Speed King Bungae / 스피드왕 번개 (1998) * Black Rubber Shoes / 검정 고무신 (1999, 2001, 2004, 2015) * Restol, The Special Rescue Squad / 레스톨 특수구조대 (1999) * Milo's Adventure / 마일로의 대모험 (1999) * Taekwon King Kang Tae-Pung / 태권왕 강태풍 (2000) * Track City / 트랙시티 (2000) * White Heart Beakgu / 하얀마음 백구 (2000) * Teanggu and Ulasyong / 탱구와 울라숑 (2001) * Unimini Pets / 유니미니펫 (2001) * BASToF Syndrome / 바스토프 레몬 (2001) * Gifighter Taerang / 기파이터 태랑 (2001) * Geisters / 가이스터즈 (2001) * Olympus Guardian / 올림포스 가디언 (2002) *

Magic Kid Masuri ''Magic Kid Ma Soo-ri'' () is a 2002 South Korean television series starring Oh Seung-yoon, Yoon Young-ah, Kim Hee-jung and Han Bo-bae. A children's drama aired on KBS 2TV from February 2002 to February 2004. It tells the story of the Surine ...

/ 매직키드 마수리 (2002) * Super Duper Sumos / 으랏차차 삼총사 (2002) * The Legend Of Blue / 바다의 전설 장보고 (2002) * Space Hip-hop Duck / 스페이스 힙합덕 (2002) *

Spheres The Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellite (SPHERES) are a series of miniaturized satellites developed by MIT's Space Systems Laboratory for NASA and US Military, to be used as a low-risk, extensible test bed for the ...

/ 스피어즈 (2003) * Guardian Fairy Michel / 수호요정 미셸 (2003) * Tank Knights Fortress / 무한 전기 포트 리스 (2003) * Hey Yo Yorang / 요랑아 요랑아 (2003) * Woobi Boy / 내 친구 우비소년 (2003) * Narong, Fly To The Sky / 뚜루뚜루뚜 나롱이 (2004) *

Mix Master ''Mix Master'' (; ja, カード王ミックスマスター) is a South Korea–Japan co-produced anime series based on the massively multiplayer online role-playing game ''Mix Master: King of Cards''. It is a co-production of Nippon Animation ...

/ 카드왕 믹스마스터 (2005) * Maskman / 마스크맨 (2005) * Jaedong, Let's Go To School / 재동아 학교가자 (2005) * Jang Geum's Dream / 장금이의 꿈 (2005, 2007) * Tori GO! GO! / 토리 고! 고! (2006) * Bug Fighter / 인조곤충 버그파이터 (2006) * Kungya Kungya / 쿵야쿵야 (2006) * Apple Candy Girl / 애플캔디 걸 (2006) * Pucca / 짜장소녀 뿌까 (2006) * Revbahaf Kingdom Rebuilding Story / 르브바하프 왕국 재건설기 (2007) * Doyajibong / 도야지봉 (2007) * Crazy Park / 다오 배찌 붐힐 대소동 (2007) * Tai Chi Chasers / 태극천자문 (2007) * Petit Petit Muse / 쁘띠쁘띠 뮤즈 (2008) * NEW Dooly the Little Dinosaur / 뉴 아기공룡 둘리 (2008) * Rocket Boy and Toro / 로켓보이 (2008) * Giga Tribe / 기가 트라이브 (2009) * Greensaver / 그린세이버 (2009) * Element Hunters / 엘리먼트 헌터 (2009) * Rolling Stars / 롤링 스타즈 (2009) * YooHoo & Friends / 유후와 친구들 (2009) * My Friend Haechi / 내 친구 해치 (2010) * Bubblegum Cook / 보글보글쿡 (2010) * MetaJets / 메타제트 (2010) * Cloud Bread / 구름빵 (2010) *

Canimals ''Canimals'' (literally can-animals) (, ''kaenimeol''), also known as ''Canimals: We Can Do It!'', is a live-action/Computer animation, CGI animated hybrid television series by Voozclub Co., Ltd. The main characters are Ato, Mimi, Uly, Fizzy, N ...

/ 캐니멀 (2011) * The Story of Miho / 미호이야기 (2011) *

Zoobles! ''Zoobles!'' is a miniature figure toyline created by Spin Master. The toyline is a spin-off of the ''Bakugan'' toyline, meant to appeal to the female demographic. Zoobles! were released in August 2010 in the United States, consisting of a wide v ...

/ 쥬블스 (2011) * Ghost Messenger / 고스트 메신저 (2011) * Art Odyssey / 아트 오디세이 (2011) * Eori / 어리이야기 (2011) * Cheap Cheonllima Mart / 쌉니다 천리마마트 (2011) * Hello Jadoo / 안녕 자두야 (2011) * Welcome to Convenience Store / 와라 편의점 (2012) * Paboo & Mojies / 빠뿌야 놀자 (2012) * NEW Wizard Boy Mutterl / 신 머털도사 (2012) * Vary Peri / 바리 페리 (2012) * Mask Master / 마스쿨랜드 (2013) * School Land / 스쿨랜드 (2013) * Bellbug Popo / 벨버그 포포 (2013) * Don't Let Go of the Mental Rope / 놓지마 정신줄 (2014) * Towards Astar Chagu Chagu / 아스타를 향해 차구차구 (2014) * Hello Carbot / 헬로 카봇 (2014) * Miniforce / 미니특공대 (2014) * Shinbi's Haunted House / 신비아파트 (2014) (

CJ ENM CJ ENM (, CJ Entertainment aNd Merchandising) is a South Korean entertainment and retail company founded in 2018. CJ ENM was established as a result of the merger of two CJ Group subsidiaries, CJ E&M and CJ O Shopping respectively, in July 20 ...

Tooniverse Tooniverse (; portmanteau short for ''Cartoon Universe'') is a cartoon and anime channel broadcast by CJ ENM E&M Division (formerly On-Media), in South Korea. Tooniverse commenced airing in December 1995 and is currently one of the leading anim ...

) * Turning Mecard / 터닝메카드 (2015) * DinoCore / 다이노코어 (2016) * Papadog / 파파독 (2016) * Flowering Heart / 플라워링 하트 (2016) * Shining Star / 샤이닝스타 (2017) * Banzi's Secret Diary / 반지의 비밀일기 (2017) * Dinosaur Mecard / 공룡메카드 (2017) * Running Man / 런닝맨 (2017, 2019) * AEROVER / 에어로버 (2018) * Pasha Mecard / 빠샤메카드 (2018) * Mashimaro / 마시마로 (2018) * Semi in the Magic Cube / 세미와 매직큐브 (2018) * Hero Circle / 히어로 써클 (2020) * Maca & Roni / 마카앤로니 (2021) * Dalja, The Vampire Girl / 뱀파이어소녀 달자 (2021) * Battle Marvelians (Pilot) / 배틀 마블리언즈 (2021) * After School Treasure Hunt (Pilot) / 방과후 트레저헌팅 (2021) * My Daughter is a Zombie / 좀비딸 (2022) * Toemarok / 퇴마록 (2022) * Codename X / 코드네임 X (2022) * Battle Marvelians (Series) / 배틀 마블리언즈 (2022) * Lookism / 외모지상주의 (2022) (Naver,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

, Studio Mir) * Cubistar / 큐비스타 (202?)

3D TV shows

/ 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로 (2003) *

Iron kid ''Eon Kid'' () is the English title of the CGI animated television series produced by Daewon C.I. and Design Storm in South Korea and BRB Internacional and Televisión Española in Spain. While the series is known as ''Iron Kid'' in South Ko ...

/ 아이언키드 (2006) * Little Wizard Tao / 꼬마신선 타오 (2009) *

Tobot ''Tobot'' (Korean: 변신자동차 또봇, RR: ''Byeonsinjadongcha Ttobot'') is a South Korean animated television series produced by Young Toys and Retrobot. The series features transforming cars — some of which are designed after Kia vehic ...

/ 변신 자동차 또봇 (2010) *

/ 꼬마버스 타요 (2010) *

/ 라바 (2011) * Capsule Boy - Protect the Universe / 캡슐보이 - 우주를 지켜라 (2016) * SofyRuby / 소피루비 (2016)

Web animations

* Pucca web animated series (2000) * Clover 4/3 / 클로버 4/3 (2000) * There She Is!! / 떳다 그녀!! (2003-2008) * Welcome to Convenience Store the Animation / 와라 편의점 the animation (2009) ( Naver) *Shining Modern History / 발광하는 현대사 (2014) (

Kakao Kakao ( ko, 카카오) is a South Korean internet company that was established in 2010. It formed as a result of a merger between Daum Communications and the original Kakao Inc. In 2014, the company was renamed Daum Kakao. The company rebrande ...

) * Lee Daero Are you alright? / 이대로 괜찮은 걸까? (2016) * Elsword: El Lady / 엘소드: 엘의 여인 (2016) * Noblesse: Awakening / 노블레스: Awakening (2016) * Closers: SIDE BLACKLAMBS / 클로저스 (2016) * Hyperventilation / 과호흡 (2017) - The first Korean BL web animated series * A day before us / 연애하루전 (2018) (Naver) * Unbelievable Space Love / 언빌리버블 스페이스 러브 (2018) *

The Sound of Heart ''The Sound of Your Heart'' (; also known as ''The Sound of Your heart'', ''Sound of Heart'') is a South Korean webtoon series written and illustrated by Jo Seok. The webtoon was first released on the Naver WEBTOON internet portal in 2006. In 200 ...

/ 마음의 소리 (2018) (Naver) * Tales of the Unusual / 기기괴괴 (2019) (Naver) * Bagel Girl / 어느 날 잠에서 깨어보니 베이글녀가 되어 있었다 (2019) (Laftel) * PSYCHO NYANYA / 사소한 냐냐 (2019) (Naver) * Super Secret / 슈퍼 시크릿 (2020) (Laftel, Studio Shelter) * Mignon / 민용 (2021) * Semantic Error Special / 시맨틱 에러 스페셜 (2021) (Laftel) *The Summer / 그 여름 (2021) (Laftel, Red Dog Culture House) - Based on a queer novel of the same name *3737 (2021) ( Lezhin Comics) * The Haunted House Special / 신비아파트 특별판: 빛의 뱀파이어와 어둠의 아이 (2021) ( TVING) *Nano List / 나노리스트 (2022) (Naver) *House Keeper / 하우스키퍼 (2022) (Naver) *

Tale of the Nine Tailed ''Tale of the Nine Tailed'' () is a 2020 South Korean television drama starring Lee Dong-wook, Jo Bo-ah, and Kim Bum. It aired on tvN from October 7 to December 3, 2020, every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:30 ( KST) with 16 episodes. On Novemb ...

/ 구미호뎐 (202?) (TVING) Based on a drama of the same name * True Beauty / 여신강림 (2022–2023) (Naver, Cocktail Media) *Island / 아일랜드 (202?) (Naver, Netflix) *The Girl Downstairs / 이두나! (2023) (Naver, Bilibili, Red Dog Culture House) - A Korean-Chinese animated series based on the webtoon of the same name *Futuristic Antique Shop / 미래의 골동품 가게 (202?) (Naver) *Seasons of Blossom / 청춘블라썸 (2023) (Naver) *The Boxer / 더 복서 (202?) (Naver) *The Moon that Rises in the Day / 낮에 뜨는 달 (202?) (Naver)

Direct-to-video and web series

* Dooly's Backpacking / 둘리의 배낭여행 (1995) *Noodle-Nude / 누들누드 (1998) *

Noblesse The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armige ...

OVA / 노블레스 OVA: 파멸의 시작 (2015) (Naver, Studio Animal)

Movies

* A Story of Hong Gil Dong / 풍운아 홍길동 (1967) * Hopy and Chadol Bawi / 호피와 차돌바위 (1967) * Heungbu and Nolbu / 흥부와 놀부 (1967) * Hwanggeum Cheolin / 황금철인 (1968) * Sonokong / 손오공 (1968) * Black Star and Golden Bat / 검은 별과 황금박쥐 (1968) * General Hong Gil Dong / 홍길동 장군 (1969) * Treasure Island / 보물섬 (1969) * Taekwon Dongja Maruchi and Arachi / 태권동자 마루치 아라치 (1976) * Robot Taekwon V / 로보트 태권브이 (1976) *General Ttoli / 똘이장군 (1978) - South Korea's first anti-communist animated film. Since this animated film became popular with Korean children, numerous anti-communist animated films have been produced in South Korea. However, the film is also criticized for its explicit portrayal of violence and political messages. * Adventure of Headol / 해돌이 대모험 (1982) * My Name is Dokgo Tak / 내 이름은 독고탁 (1984) * My Beautiful Girl, Mari / 마리이야기 (2002) *

Aachi & Ssipak ''Aachi & Ssipak'' is a 2006 South Korean adult animated comic science fiction action film directed by Jo Beom-jin and features the voices of Ryoo Seung-bum, Im Chang-jung, and Hyun Young. Plot Somewhere in the future, mankind has depleted all ...

/ 아치와 씨팍 (2006) * Yobi, The Five-Tailed Fox / 천년여우 여우비 (2007) * The King of Pigs / 돼지의 왕 (2011) *

Leafie, A Hen into the Wild ''Leafie, A Hen into the Wild'' (), also called ''Daisy, A Hen into the Wild'' in English-speaking countries, is a 2011 South Korean animated drama film which depicts the freedom, will and instinctive motherly love of a hen as she raises an adopted ...

/ 마당을 나온 암탉 (2011) * Green Days (2012) * Swimming to Sea / 파닥파닥 (2012) *The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow / 우리별 일호와 얼룩소 (2014) *Timing / 타이밍 (2015) *Lost in the Moonlight / 달빛궁궐 (2016) *

Seoul Station Seoul Station is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. Services KTX Seoul Station is the terminus of most ...

/ 서울역 (2016) * The Haunted House: The Secret of the Cave / 신비아파트: 금빛 도깨비와 비밀의 동굴 (2018) *

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

/ 언더독 (2018) *Bad Boss / 나쁜 상사 (2018) * The Haunted House: The Sky Goblin VS Jormungandr / 극장판 신비아파트: 하늘도깨비 대 요르문간드 (2019) * Beauty Water / 기기괴괴 - 성형수 (2020) *Your Letter / 연의 편지 (2022) (Naver, LICO) *Stress Zero / 스트레스 제로 (2020) *Yumi's Cells / 유미의 세포들 (2023) (Naver, SIDUS)

References

External links

History of Korean animation

��(in Japanese, with images & video clip)
Korean animated movie posters
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Korean Animation Korean animation