On March 15, 2026, Maggie Kang made history as the first woman of Korean descent to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. For this week, we are riding the coattails of the triumphant success of K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) to cast a spotlight on other women directors in Korean animation. This article complements a previous piece, where we cover the rise of the live-action women directors. In this article, Jason Bechervaise highlights the integral role of domestic film schools and festivals, and how they have developed, platformed, and exported aspiring women-directed films abroad.

In comparison, the Korean animation scene has been transnational since its conception. South Korea had long been a site for outsourced, below-the-line labor for Japanese and American animation from the 1960s. By 1997, Animation World magazine reported that Korea contributed as much as 30% to the world's animation output in 1997. The most famous example of Korea's extensive outsourcing network is Nelson Shin's company, AKOM, which animated 90% of The Simpsons (1989-on) series.

In response, federally-funded efforts to invest in animation directors, rather than laborers, blossomed. In 1994, the Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism invested in domestic visual culture production, including animation. Animation-forward festivals, television channels, distribution companies, and organizations followed – including Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (1995–2021), Tooniverse (1999), Korean Independent Animation Filmmakers Association (2004), Seoul Indie-Anifest (2005), and AniSEED (2010). This has resulted in a renaissance of independent animation, where many women have taken center-stage.

 Dust Kid (2009)

Transnational connections remain central to the story. To begin this spotlight, this article begins with Korean Academy of Fine Arts graduate Joung Yumi. Joung Yumi first drew international attention with her 2009 short, Dust Kid (2009), which became the first Korean animation to be invited to Cannes' Director's Fortnight. Her monochrome palette, precise linework, and wordless characters command presence through absurd mundanities. To this day, Joung Yumi's unwaveringly bold approach to form continues to reap recognition at A-list festivals, including Berlinale and Animafest Zagreb.

Man on the Chair (2014)

In contrast, Jeong Da-hee studied in both Korea and France, and has regularly participated in international residencies. Her Annecy Cristal-winning 2014 debut, Man on the Chair (2014), evokes the joyful fluidity of Matisse. Blobs of paint transform into contemplative characters, making even the slightest shiver of a shadow enthralling. On the other hand, CalArts graduate im Chaerin recalls Cubist influences in her work. She combines thick brushstrokes with modernist subject matter, as seen in her Lee Jung-seob-inspired short, I Am A Ho​rse (2023). Off the international festival circuit, several experimental gems have incubated within national borders. Those who have enjoyed Beauty Water (2020) will enjoy Kim Hye-mi's stylized 3D-CGI psychological horror about motherhood, Climbing (2018).

Beauty Water (2020)

If one is more inclined towards the psychological horrors of working-class life, Jang Nari's quietly harrowing Black Crocodile (2018) is a devastating, but an enthralling watch.

The Black Crocodile (2018)

Korean women animators have also found international audiences online, as well. For example, anonymous animator VIVINOS took YouTube by a storm with her queer sci-fi-idol show series, Alien Stage (2022-present). In this alternate universe, human children must compete with one another – even their lifelong lovers – through a singing competition to survive before their violent extraterrestrial overlords. The mixture of anime-esque kawaii, original music, and unbridled gore has proven to be irresistible. In just three years, the series gathered over 300 million views.

Han Ji-won's Kim Tae-ri-starring feature, Lost in Starlight (2025), is also available to Netflix subscribers worldwide. This is the first-ever Korean original animated film to be commissioned by the over-the-top (OTT) platform. Though Han is relatively a fresh face to the Korean animation scene (her first queer feature, That Summer, had only been completed and distributed two years prior), she has a penchant for crowdpleasing work. She maintains a Shinkai Makoto-esque sensibility for illuminated backlit characters, scintillating cityscapes, and just the right dose of nostalgia.

Maggie Kang, too, became a sensation through Netflix just four months after Lost in Starlight's premiere. She is not the only diaspora director working with the company, either. Eunyoung Choi built a name for herself in Japan as the Co-founder, President, and CEO of Science SARU, an experimental animation studio that also works on commercial animation. Choi and indie darling Yuasa Masaaki have worked together on series and features alike, including Adventure Time, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl (2017), and Netflix series, Devilman Crybaby (2018).

In addition to these directors, there are many women animators who work behind the scenes. Some are the backbone of independent collectives. Song Songhwa and Sogong contribute to the trio SamBakZa, the group responsible for international Flash animation sensation There She Is!! (2003–2008). Jiyoung Chon works with her partner Jinman Kim through Studio Humuhumu, producing heartwarming stop-motion shorts like Noodle Fish (2012). Some, on the other hand, prefer to run the show. Yujin Choi and Lee Kyung Hwa have created key hubs within the independent animation ecosystem, supporting other independent animators through running the annual Seoul Indie-Anifest and editorial publication, SEOUL&ANIMATOR.

Within the history of Korean independent animation, women directors have remained the running thread. They paved the way for creative direction in Korean animation, marking many firsts in film festivals, online streaming platforms, and now, international awards cycles. Moving forward, the future seems bright for the world of Korean animation, especially with women at the helm.

Written by Grace Han

Edited by kofic