Reflecting a global trend, animations remain a draw in Korea with the latest animated film Heartsping: Teenieping of Love (2024) having struck a chord with viewers. It has accumulated more than 880,000 admissions since its release on August 7th and has surpassed its break-even point of 600,000 viewers. This makes it the fourth Korean film to do so this summer following the success of Escape (2024), Handsome Guys (2023) and Pilot (2023) in what is a further sign that the industry is being less driven by tentpole features.

Directed by Kim Su-hoon, Heartsping is the first feature film of the animation series Catch! Teenieping produced by SAMG Entertainment, which centers on Princess Romi of the Emotion Kingdom. The princess comes to earth to catch creatures called Teeniepings that have unique powers that are connected to emotions.

In the film Romi is desperate to find her soul mate and happens to meet Heartsping who she initially responds to, but he doesn’t necessarily react in the same way. It tells a story of trust even in challenging circumstances.

While it’s been popular among children especially, it has also attracted older audiences – much like the recent Disney Animations Inside Out 2 (2024) and Elemental. Both of which have also captured complex emotions selling 8.4 million tickets and 7.2 million tickets, respectively.

This week, we profile Korean animated films and televisions shows that have targeted children beginning with animated features that were released theatrically in the 1970s, then moving on to the TV shows of the late 1980s and early 1990s before culminating with some of the animated characters that have captured children’s imaginations in the 2000s.

Animated Films of the 1970s & 1980s: Robot Taekwon V (1976), Maruchi Arachi (1977) Golden Wings 1.2.3. (1978), General Ttoli (1978), Galaxy Fleet Earth (1979), Space Three Musketeers (1979), The Great Adventure of Haedol (1982)

Robot Taekwon V (1976) is the most famous of Korea’s early animations. Directed by Kim Cheong-gi and produced by Yu Hyun-mok (Obaltan (1961)), it was a massive hit in cinemas attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers despite the industry being in much turmoil amidst intense government censorship. The film’s story revolves around a rogue and disgruntled scientist leading a Red Empire threatening civilization. In response, his former colleague develops Robot Taekwon V to counter the attack.

Given the film’s nationalistic and anti-communist themes, it didn’t encounter the same problems with censorship many directors experienced at the time. It was also remastered owing to financial support from the Korean Film Council and re-released in local cinemas 2007.

Released in July of 1977 and directed by Lim Jeong-Gyu and viewed by more than 160,000 people in Seoul, Maruchi Arachi is based on a popular MBC drama series called Taekwondo Boy Maruchi. It follows two children called Maruchi and Arachi who are discovered in a cave and are brought back to civilization to learn Taekwondo. Voices from the original drama series are thought to have taken part in the theatrical production.

Golden Wings 1.2.3. (1978) helmed by Kim Cheong-ki centers on a teenage boy who is given superhero powers by an alien and finds himself in a fight to save planet earth against a space criminal. Science fiction in Korean animations of the 1970s was a recuring genre that was evident in Golden Wings 1.2.3. and Robert Taekwon V, which Kim made two years earlier. Kim was known for his work in the genre that has had a harder time connecting with audiences in the contemporary era though live-action features.

Kim Chung-gi’s General Ttoli: Third Tunnel released in 1978 kicked off a three-part animated series. The films were inspired by The Adventure of Ttolttori (1946) directed by Lee Gyu-hwan, which was released one year after the liberation from Japanese colonial rule. With anti-communist education prevalent in the 1970s, the General Ttoli series was not only screened in theatres but also in schools.  It portrayed North Korea as a villain with the first film of the series following a boy who lives in the mountains. He saves a poor girl from the communists.

Also directed by Kim Chung-gi was Galaxy Fleet Jiguho that hit screens in Korea in 1979. At 82 minutes, which was a typical running time for many of these animations, it focuses on an exploration team led by Dr. Han to find a similar planet to earth after pollution damages Earth sparking a confrontation with Luca, a ruler of a city planet.

Also set out in space is Lim Jing-kyu’s Space Three Musketeers (1979), which was released in July 1979. It was the first of three parts – the two other films (The Three Musketeers, Time Machine 001 and 15 Boys Adrift in Space) were released in 1980 - and tells the story of three young children fascinated by space who meet Ruru after crash landing into a Forest. Ruru then invites the three into space where they have to defeat an enemy during a meteor shower.

Anti-communist animation, The Great Adventure of Haedol (1982) directed by Kim Hyun-dong greeted audiences in the early 1980s. It follows a boy who is able to cross the Demilitarized Zone and enter North Korea thanks to an angel. The boy’s father has been kidnapped by the North Korean Navy. He locates the mine he is being held in and turns into a hulk with the Angels power. Subsequently, he is able to defeat the North Korean troops and tanks to save his father.

Late 1980s & Early 1990s TV Animations: Dooly the Little Dinosaur (1987), Run Hani (1988), Yeongsimi (1988), The Flying Superboard (1990)

Over the past fifty years, there have been several animated characters that have that have come to characterize the local animated industry. One of the early examples from the 1980s is Dooly the Little Dinosaur that was created by cartoonist Kim Soo-jung. Serialized as a comic from the 1983 to 1993, it led to a whole franchise encompassing two seasons on KBS Television (One of Korea’s public broadcasters) in the late 1980s with reruns in the 1990s. The central character is a baby dinosaur who was kidnapped by aliens, experimented on and given special powers. After his return to earth, he is trapped on an ice glacier, and emerges 100 million years later when part of the glacier breaks off and floats to the Korean capital.

In addition, there was a feature film titled Little Dinosaur Doolie: The Great Adventure (1996) directed by its creator Kim Soo-jung along with Im Gyeongwon.  It was the fourth most-viewed film in 1996. It was remastered in 4K and re-released in 2023.

In 2008, Dooly was reintroduced on SBS (a commercial broadcasting channel) under a new team titled The Little Dino Dooly.

Run Hani created by cartoonist Lee Jinju was serialized as a comic from 1985-88 and then turned into a TV series in 1988. Female-driven, it consisted of two series (Run Hani (1988), Stupid Hani (1989) airing on KBS. It follows a 13-year-old girl Hani whose mother’s died when she was young and follows her rise as a sprinter. It also focuses on the relationship with her stepmother, Ji-ae. An animated film is currently in the works titled Run Hani, Bad Girl.

Yeongsimi serialized as a comic in 1988 created by Bae Geum-taek centers on a fourteen-year-old girl Young-sim and a relationship she has with Kyung-tae. It was developed as an animated series that was aired on KBS in 1990 featuring 13 episodes. A film directed by Lee Mi-rye was released the same year, while more recently a series based on the comic was broadcasted on ENA in 2023 starring Song Ha-yoon and Lee Donghae.

Aired in 1990s and early 2000s, The Flying Superboard was significant for its of computer animated technology and became the most viewed animation in television history with a rating of 42.8 percent on the KBS network in1992. The success of the television series further popularized animation in Korea and was an important moment for the contents industry, which saw rapid developments during this decade that are still felt to this day.

Created by cartoonist Huh Young-man, it’s based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West that was published in the 16^th century, it tells the story of Sonogong who was locked up in large iron mass for 500 years but is rescued by an Old Priest. Sonogong then becomes his disciple.

Children’s Animations in the 2000s: Pororo, Pucca and Larva

While the Korean animation industry is often overshadowed by Japanese Manga, Korea’s animated characters have nonetheless found much success not only domestically but abroad over the past twenty years. Unlike the 1980s and 1990s, however, many of the characters of the 2000s were not based on comics.

Pororo the Little Penguin was launched on the education-orientated channel EBS in 2001 involving a very simple premise focusing on Pororo and his friends in a snowy hamlet as they encounter different challenges and learn moral lessons along the way.

It has spanned multiple series over two decades, while there have been close to twenty films involving the little penguin and his friends underscoring its enduring popularity. It’s also been made available in different languages including English and Mandarin mirroring how the wider industry has sought to capitalize on overseas markets.