Director seeks 'Koreanness' in animated film to find breakthrough

Ahn Jae-huun, artistic director of Studio Meditation With a Pencil, poses during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, June 9. His latest animation film "The Shaman Sorceress" was officially invited to this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Animator feels the pinch amid cinema boom

By Park Ji-won

South Korea is one of Asia's biggest film markets ― annual box office attendance reached 210 million in 2019.

But the cinema boom has moved online after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Netflix has seen a surge of Korean subscribers as people increasingly stream movies at home.

When movie theaters were crowded, however, the lucrative film business was geared towards blockbuster commercial films.

Animators still find it tough to find investors and finance their projects to get them onto the big screen.

Ahn Jae-huun, artistic director of Studio Meditation with a Pencil, poses during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, June 9. His latest animation film "The Shaman Sorceress" was officially invited to this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Ahn Jae-huun, artistic director of Studio Meditation With a Pencil in Seoul, is one of the animators feeling the pinch. He was about to close his business several times because he found it tough to make ends meet; however, every time, help came at the last minute, keeping him in business.

"Whenever I was thinking of closing my studio, I unexpectedly would receive support and news about the success of animation deals done," he said during a recent Korea Times interview. "I was lucky… Of course, I think my studio could close at any time. But until that day comes, I will keep working."

His persistence has paid off. He was invited to this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which opened June 15 and will run through June 30, for "The Shaman Sorceress," a movie adaptation of Kim Tong-ni's namesake novel. It is his fourth animated feature.

"The Shaman Sorceress" is an animated musical about conflicts between familial generations and indigenous and new religions. Mo-hwa, a shaman, and Wook-yi, her son who returned home as a Christian after being away for many years, continue to clash over the differences in their faiths and meet tragic ends.

This is the second time for him to be invited to the prestigious film festival following his 2011 work "Green Days," and he is the first Korean animator to achieve this honor. For animators, Annecy is the equivalent of the Cannes International Film Festival. He said he was honored to be invited there twice.

Poster for "The Shaman Sorceress"

Ahn believes that the "big four" movie theater chains are partly responsible for the financial difficulties animation creators are going through because of their domination of film production, distribution and screening that makes it difficult for animated films to be screened.

More than 53,000 people watched his film at theaters, but it failed to cover its costs.

"When "Green Days" was pulled from the theaters earlier than I thought, I was about to quit. I was frustrated and felt helpless," he said.

The problems facing the creators of homegrown animated movies in South Korea is paradoxical, considering the country is one of the key offshore animation centers for the United States animation production companies such as Disney.

In the 1960s, the global animation giants began to outsource part of their work to overseas animators to cut production costs. Cartoons are storyboarded in the U.S., then sent overseas for inking, painting and coloring by hand. Once done, they are sent back to the U.S. for other details, such as dialogue and music overlays before they are sent to cinemas to be screened.

They did so because of headaches in the U.S. domestic production market. Trade unions were vocal and staged strikes to improve animators' labor conditions, which resulted in higher wages.

South Korea benefitted from those firms outward-looking business strategy. It was a win-win deal for both the production companies and South Korean animators. They were able to cut production costs drastically thanks to lower wages, while jobs were created for South Korean animators. South Korea became a favorite offshore center for them because animators were willing to work fast and to put in the hours, according to the book, "Film Studies: A Global Introduction" by Glyn Davis, Kay Dickinson, Lisa Patti and Amy Villarejo.

In the early 2000s, Phil Roman, owner of the U.S. animation studio Film Roman, said Korean animation companies would charge ten percent of what costs a million dollars to produce in the U.S., the book said. As a result, by the 1990s, South Korea was as the world's third largest animation producer.

Despite skilled animators with rich experience, South Korea has long been a barren market for original animated movies. Korea's first animated film was director Shin Dong-heon's "Hong Gil-dong," released in 1967. The animated film enjoyed considerable commercial success; but despite its successful debut, there were few other successful animation movies.

Director Kim Cheong-ki's 1976 work "Robot Taekwon V" reached phenomenal heights of success but was embroiled in a plagiarism controversy. The case was taken to court decades after the animated film was screened at local theaters.

Robot Taekwon V Corp. sued a toy importer for alleged violation of the copyright. The toy importer countered this, claiming Robot Taekwon V plagiarized Japanese animation Mazinger Z and thus was not entitled to any copyright protection.

In a ruling in July 2018, Seoul Central Court sided with Robot Taekwon V Corp, ordering the toy importer to pay 40 million won for the breach of copyright. The court rejected the toy importer's plagiarism claim, saying there was a striking difference between the two animated creatures in the V-shapes in the robots' upper body.

There have been some scattered anecdotal success stories about homegrown animated movies since.

"Dooly the Dinosaur," a megahit TV series (1987) and animated film (1988) based on a comic book, paved the way for the animated characters' licensing market. The success of "Once upon a Time" (1990) made by KBS proved that Korean traditional tales could be turned into successful animated films.

A turning point in the industry came with several animated characters from the early 2000s. Backed by the solid domestic fandom among children, TV series such as "Pororo the Little Penguin" (2003-2017) and "Pucca Funny Love" (2006-2019), started to also enjoy unprecedented popularity in overseas markets. The characters were transformed into games, stationery and even a theme park, making history in the realm of intellectual property businesses. Pororo alone, is reportedly worth 400 billion won, leading the expansion of the character market in the nation.

The success possibly led the growth in the animation industry as well. According to latest data from the Korea Creative Content Agency, sales in the animation industry were 665.5 billion won ($546 million) in 2018, more than double than that of 2008 (311.1 billion won).

Some homegrown animated films started to surpass 1 million viewers in theaters ― "Leafie, A Hen into the Wild" (2011) with 2.2 million, and "Speckles: The Tarbosaurus" (2012) with 1 million. Many thought that this would be the beginning of an animation boom here, in terms of diversifying genres.

Some forecast that there will be more chances to come up with more original series following the changing landscape of the film industry; online streaming service providers are financing animation production companies to make original stories while distributing them through their channels worldwide. In January, Netflix started to release works by Studio Ghibli. Also, as many webtoons, or online comics creators are working on making animated versions ― with some already released ― many expect a bright future for the animation industry.

Ahn said there will be opportunities for animated feature films if animators create works that are distinguishable from those of the U.S. or Japan.

"Korean directors including Bong Joon-ho are like philosophers as they experienced so many things in a short period of time in modern history… K-pop, some foreigners simply think it is represented by BTS, and other cultural genres reflect some 5,000 years of Korean history which is extraordinary," he said.

Ahn is one of the few Korean animators to make original pieces. Since 1998 when he founded the studio with his wife, he has been making short and featured films while running projects to make modern Korean literature into animation films. Thanks to his efforts, "When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom" written by Lee Hyo-seok in 1936, "Spring Spring" written by Kim Yu-jeong in 1935, "One Lucky Day" written by Hyun Jin-geon in 1924 and "The Shower" written by Hwang Sun-won in 1952 have been made into animated films. "The Shaman Sorceress" is a Korean story, based on a short novel written in 1936 by Nobel Prize nominee Kim Dong-ni.

The animator is largely self-taught. He loved drawing and reading and writing from a young age, so he vaguely thought that he wanted to become a poet or an author. He ended up working for a Korean animation company after finishing his military service, as a contractor for the Japanese animation "Tetsujin 28-go" where he refined his drawing skill as an animator over the six years he worked there.

Ahn said that he thinks his film was invited to the international festival because it addresses the conflicts existing between generations and the misogynic perspective against female workers in society which can be commonly seen now especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There are various conflicts in the world. I think Korean people have their own way to overcome the difficulties as you can see in the face of the spread of COVID-19… We have to better understand about other people's choices ― including religions ― than before. But in the early 1900s, there were religious conflicts as well. Also, you can learn that some men underestimate traditional female workers and shamans," Ahn said.

He added that the film can also provoke thoughts on how we should face the shifting paradigm of work in every society.

"What you can see through Mo-hee's suicide is not the sorrow of a collapsed family. Her tragic decision was made after she realized that the end of her work was nearing. People think shamans are superstitious while considering that Christianity can create more value and good. So with witnessing the death of one's work, the film can give people room to think that it is time to think about the destiny of our work in this era."

One question kept bothering him while working for the Japanese company. "Why are there no animation films that reflect Korean scenery or lives?" And being in the middle of the swirl of Korean history amid the democratization movement, he reflected a lot on Korean history. So, one day, he decided to leave and start his own animation company, which is now Studio Meditation With a Pencil.

Ahn Jae-huun, artistic director of studio Meditation with a Pencil, poses during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, June 9. His latest animation film "The Shaman Sorceress" was officially invited to this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

What differentiates his work from others is that they are hand-drawn with pencils. Today, 3D animation films are no longer rare in theaters, and computer-based animation production systems are common in the industry, but he insists on working with pencils to create 2D animation films to convey his own flavor.

"I am the only one to use pencils for work in my studio... (Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animation master is also known for using pencils to create his works.) You can immediately recognize the differences between hand-drawn animation and computer animation presented in films. Characters in 3D animated films have similar timing when they move. But 2D animation films have their own unique movements and timing between frames. Of course, it is very hard to scan the pieces of paper one by one and not many understand why I do this, but it is worth doing."

The style likely reminds us of the old films which can be seen in early animation works and goes somewhat well with the nostalgic works of literature with countryside settings. In most films he uses many natural colors and images of scenery such as blooming flowers. He stresses that originality and storytelling are the key elements to attract foreign audiences.

"Oddly, The Shower has frequently been invited to foreign screenings. As you know, it has a simple storyline and is somewhat plain and slow. So when I say the novel is a favorite in Korea, they find it so interesting, some say it is like reading a poem, because it goes against their preconceived notion that Korean people are very energetic. When I witness these kinds of gaps … these (Korean cultures) are what I should deliver through my works."

Above all, he stressed that it is very tricky to express literature through animation due to the lack of sources. In many cases, authors have already passed away. The work of "One Lucky Day" was an especially difficult one, he recalled, because there were not many image sources left. "There was very little chance for Koreans to self-reflect, which is very sad," he said in another interview. So he reads a novel over and over again to understand it. If possible, he asks many people about their feelings and memories while visiting the hometown of the late authors.

"When I draw something, especially our landscapes, I just draw until I can be satisfied with it." He is also famous for giving viewers portraits he draws as a present and now is the perfect time for him to draw the faces of his growing fan base around the world.

He is currently working on an original piece, "A Thousand Years Together," a fantasy animation film depicting today's Seoul as seen through a child's eyes.

Making Korean literature into animated films appears to be his all-time goal, but he recently decided to stop and work on the cinematization of webtoons to help his business survive and to gain seed money for his own work.

"I am thinking of not cinematizing Korean pieces of literature because I realized that people no longer watch a film only because it has a certain cinematic value. But I think the ability of the studio is at its peak. So I want to come up with some animation films that can draw a greater audience through the rest of my career."

Even though he decided not to continue the work he did for more than 20 years to maintain a footing in the industry, he stressed that he is not giving up, but moving on to come up with films which can help people gain some insights about Korea as many artists have done in the global market.

"Culture shines when there is diversity. There is good animation from Hollywood, Asia, and Japan and around the world. But I hope people will talk more about Korean animation as many Korean artists such as BTS promote Korean culture in their areas. If somebody wants to know about the color and diversity of Korea, I would be so happy for that person to watch my animated films…And I hope that I can create cultural assets that can contribute to society so that I can repay what I have received so far to create my own pieces."