A Welcome Letter for Korean Feature Animation ‘Your Letter’

This year marks a monumental moment for Korean feature animation. ‘The Legend of the Exorcist’ (released February 21) drew more than 500,000 viewers, achieving a meaningful score. Han Ji-won’s ‘What This Star Needs’ (released May 30) was the first Korean feature animation to be produced and invested in by Netflix, earning industry recognition. And now comes director Kim Yong-hwan’s ‘Your Letter’ (released October 1).

Restoring Forgotten Values

Sori (voiced by Lee Soo-hyun) discovers, rather than receives, a letter inside her school desk drawer. The envelope marked “1” signals there will be more to follow. Sure enough, at the bottom of the letter lies a clue to where the next one is hidden: “If you want to read my next letter, you’ll have to find it.” Suddenly, school life that had been suffocating becomes full of anticipation. And she is desperate to know—who is this Hoyeon (voiced by Min Seung-woo), the sender who signed the letter?

For Sori, Hoyeon’s letters become the only joy of attending school. She has hated school ever since she was once ostracized for standing up for a bullied classmate at her previous school. Moving from Seoul to her grandmother’s hometown of Chuncheon, she hoped for a fresh start—but making new friends proved daunting. Fear of being targeted again kept her on edge.

‘Your Letter’ is adapted from a 10-episode webtoon originally released as Naver Webtoon’s summer special. From the first episode onward, it garnered nearly perfect reader ratings until the very end. Its greatest strength lay in reviving the lost value of “letters”—handwritten words on paper, sealed in envelopes, and delivered personally—in an era where social networks dominate all human connections.

Director Kim Yong-hwan explained, “I focused on the story being carried through letters. I wanted to create impact with the anticipation, curiosity, and emotions that arise from seeking out the letters and imagining who wrote them.” Thus, the film doesn’t simply revolve around Sori and Hoyeon’s relationship, but around the broader idea of how letters serve as a medium to connect people.

School violence isn’t just about the strong oppressing the weak; it destroys relationships and communities. That’s why Sori had to leave her Seoul school, and why her new journey in Chuncheon is about regaining the value of friendship she had lost. As she searches for Hoyeon’s next letters scattered across the school grounds, she gradually befriends others along the way.

Values Found in Spaces

Making friends means entering new worlds. Each of Hoyeon’s letters is hidden in a different school location, guiding Sori to new people and encounters. The first letter’s clue, “819.93 학99,” leads her to the library, where she finds the second letter.

Its contents are curious: written almost like a dictionary entry, it lists names of the dormitory manager, cafeteria cook, and security guard, even describing the guard’s pet cat. This meticulous attention to detail, matching each letter’s style with the identity of its hiding place, proves why the original webtoon was perfect for animation.

The director admitted, “Designing and directing each letter’s location was an enormous task. It was crucial to maintain the unique quality of each space while harmonizing them within the whole.” Indeed, the film depicts more than ten different school facilities, from classrooms and libraries to rooftops, archery ranges, rabbit pens, and flower gardens.

Unlike the intimidating skyscrapers of Seoul, these school facilities sit harmoniously side by side in the embrace of nature—like letters being exchanged without pretense. Though new to the school, Sori finds herself stepping freely into these open spaces, forming genuine connections with those she meets.

Meeting Friends Through Letters

One such connection is with Dongsun (voiced by Kim Min-joo). Following Hoyeon’s clue, Sori slips food through a hole in the school wall to order Chinese takeout and eats it on the rooftop—where she encounters Dongsun, eating the same food. Though strangers, sharing a meal becomes the start of friendship.

Unlike Sori, Dongsun once spent time with Hoyeon at school, but his sudden departure without goodbye left her feeling abandoned. She feels hurt that Hoyeon wrote only to Sori, but also reasons that if Hoyeon trusted Sori, then Sori could be a friend to her too.

Dongsun recalls when Hoyeon once found her in the woods by lighting up a jar of fireflies. He had said: “Every place has its own way of being entered. People are like that too. The moment you notice and care, they exist before you.”

Though rooftops often feel isolating, Sori and Dongsun—connected through Hoyeon’s letters—are no longer alone. Dongsun follows Sori down from the rooftop, and Sori follows Dongsun through the school in search of the next letter. Sharing their pains, they begin to feel Hoyeon’s presence more vividly than ever.

The Enduring Value of 2D

Author Jo Hyun-a praised the adaptation: “The scene where Sori finds and reads the first letter captured exactly what I intended in the webtoon.” The animation mirrors the webtoon’s panels—cross-cutting between Sori and Hoyeon, depicted only in silhouette, as letters connect them across spaces.

While adapting the script, director Kim and writer Jung Eun-kyung agreed: “The original’s emotional resonance carried great power. Preserving and expanding that resonance in animation was the core mission.”

The analog emotion of handwritten letters imbues the film with nostalgia. Jo Hyun-a noted her satisfaction at how the animation deepened the roles of secondary friends like Sugyeong, Horan, and Songhee: “I regretted not giving them enough focus in the short-form webtoon, so I’m grateful the film expanded on their friendship.”

The art style enhances this nostalgic tone: thick, rounded pen strokes, watercolor-like washes, and generous white space between panels—all beautifully suited for 2D. The director insisted on keeping the traditional 2D production process, saying, “We wanted to naturally and beautifully express a Korean sense of analog emotion.”

The five-and-a-half-year production involved multiple studios and talented outside artists. The collaborative spirit behind the film itself reflects the values of connection and togetherness.

A Bright Future for Korean Animation

Will Sori eventually meet Hoyeon, who transformed her hellish school life into something heavenly? Will Dongsun reconcile with Hoyeon after his unexplained departure? These questions sustain the audience’s immersion, but the deeper theme is courage.

As the director explains, “It’s about Sori regaining her lost courage. The act of writing letters itself is an expression of courage—of reaching out without knowing how the other will respond.” Sori, too, once showed courage in standing up against bullies, regardless of outcome. True change begins when one dares to act.

Beyond ‘The Legend of the Exorcist’ and ‘What This Star Needs’, October 7 will bring ‘Bad Girl: Run, Hani!’ to theaters. Meanwhile, acclaimed directors Bong Joon-ho and Kim Tae-yong are developing their first animated features, ‘The Valley’ and ‘Kkokdu’. A sequel to ‘The Legend of the Exorcist’ is also in the works.

Korean feature animation, once considered a rare event in theaters, is now thriving. Director Kim Yong-hwan, who first gained notice when his short ‘Returning Home in Glory’ (2016) screened in competition at the Melbourne International Animation Festival, honed his skills on web animations like ‘One Day Before Love’ (2018) and ‘Tower of God’ (2020). With ‘Your Letter’, he won the Jury Prize for Feature at the Bucheon International Animation Festival last year, hailed as a promising new voice in Korean animation.

The relay of Korean animated features we see this year reflects the determination of young directors like Kim, who persisted despite industry hardships. In this sense, ‘Your Letter’ feels itself like a long-awaited letter of hope—announcing that Korean feature animation has finally taken its rightful place on the main stage.

Written by Heo Nam-woong (Film Critic)

Photos courtesy of Lotte Entertainment

Original KOFIC report (Click)