Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Japanese anime dominates box office - Will Korean animation catch up?
From left are posters for “Suzume,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “The First Slam Dunk,” / Courtesy of Media Castle, Universal Pictures and SMG Holdings
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Experts say Korea will leapfrog Japan on global animation stage in near future
By Kwak Yeon-soo
With “The First Slam Dunk” and “Suzume” bringing a new wave of attention to animated features here, animation has become a staple in domestic cinemas.
Japanese director Makoto Shinkai's anime film “Suzume” has attracted over 4.4 million moviegoers as of April 12. “The First Slam Dunk,” based on the popular “Slam Dunk” basketball manga series by Takehiko Inoue, ended up topping 4.45 million admissions in Korea.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” a U.S. animated adventure film based on the classic Japanese-made video game, and director Ayumu Watanabe's “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” are set to be released in theaters later this month.
Although Japanese and U.S. animated films have proven to be blockbuster hits in Korea, locally produced ones have never enjoyed the same prestige.
Only two Korean animated films have exceeded the 1 million viewers mark so far ― “Leafie, A Hen into the Wild” (2011), which garnered 2.2 million admissions, and “Speckles: the Tarbosaurus” (2012), which drew over 1 million moviegoers.
According to a 2022 report on the film industry by the Korean Film Council, a total of 15 animated films were screened in theaters last year. Among them, 13 were categorized as children's content.
The remaining two animated films that appealed to broader age groups were 2021's “Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On” which won the Contrechamp Jury Distinction prize at the 46th Annecy International Animation Film Festival and stop-motion animated feature “Mother Land.”
Industry insiders say animation has long been perceived as content for children here, rather than anything to be considered serious.
“In Korea, there is a general perception that animation is only for kids and there is a stigma associated with otaku, or die-hard anime fans,” said Han Chang-wan, a professor of comics and animation at Sejong University. “In Japan, anime is aired in prime-time and late-night slots. But in Korea, it is aired around 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., which is children's normally accepted viewing hours. For decades, adult audiences have relied on cable channels like Tooniverse to watch anime.”
A scene from the 2021 Korean animated film “Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On” / Courtesy of Myung Film
However, the negative perceptions of animation underwent drastic changes during the COVID-19 pandemic with the rising prevalence of streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+.
“Unlike major TV networks, streaming services operate their own portfolios of animation just like TV series and movies. During the pandemic, many realized that there are a lot of adult viewers who really love animation,” he explained.
Kim Nam-hee, vice chairwoman of the Korea Animation Industry Association, said the changing media environment has allowed domestic animators to seek platforms other than major TV networks.
“A growing number of Korean animation studios are looking to get their shows on streaming services. As far as I know, each of them is preparing to adapt at least one or two highly popular Korean webtoons,” she said.
The total sales of the local webtoon market amounted to 1.57 trillion won ($1.23 billion) in 2021, up 48.6 percent from the previous year, according to data by the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency.
Kim expressed regret over Japanese animation studios adapting Korean webtoons into films or series before Korean animators get a chance.
“It's a shame that although we own original webtoon intellectual property, Japanese productions are taking the lead to pick up the adaptation rights. For instance, a film version of the popular Korean webtoon 'Solo Leveling' will be produced by Japan's A-1 Pictures and be broadcast on Crunchyroll (in the U.S.) this year,” she said.
A scene from Korean animated film “Mother Land” / Courtesy of The Coup Distribution
However, experts say that the Korean animation industry clearly has a talent base and the potential to take a massive leap in a few years.
Comparing how the Japanese manga market shrank as the Korean webtoon market grew, Han predicts that Korea will eventually leapfrog Japan on the global animation stage.
“Animation was never at the center of attention in the entertainment industry because studios did not see it as lucrative enough to attempt investing in it,” he said. “But now they see a growing demand from the young generation and 'kidults,' so companies are going to roll out more and more animations. I'm confident that Korean animation will outpace Japanese anime in four to five years because there are many talented young animators here.”
Kim agreed that Korean animators do not lack creativity or animation skills compared with Japanese or Hollywood animators. “There are many internationally renowned animation studios in Korea like Studio Mir that are equipped with great technical and creative skills,” she said.
Han stressed the importance of developing 2D animation and detail-oriented scripts. “When watching animation on a big screen, 2D animation is more precise, especially when it comes to expressing nature,” he said. “Moreover, studios should work on developing detail-oriented scripts because an animated film cannot pick a director's cut from several versions as live-action movies do.”