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Can Koreans make better anime than the Japanese? Give it ‘four to five years’, says one expert, and home-grown cartoons will dominate the box office
- Japanese and US animated films have been hits in Korea, but not locally produced ones. Now Korean film studios have seen anime’s success on streaming services
- The Korean animation industry clearly has the talent and potential to make a massive leap in a few years, experts say, and could even outpace Japan
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By Kwak Yeon-soo
Animated features have become a staple in South Korean cinemas, and the success of The First Slam Dunk and Suzume has only reinforced that even further.
Japanese director Makoto Shinkai’s film Suzume had, as of April 12, been seen by 4.4 million South Korean film-goers, while The First Slam Dunk – based on the Slam Dunk basketball manga by Takehiko Inoue – topped 4.45 million admissions. The latter is set for release in China on April 20, and internet users are already sharing their thoughts on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
“This is not just a movie, it’s our youth!” one fan proclaimed.
While Japanese and US animated films have proved blockbuster hits in Korea, locally produced ones have never enjoyed the same prestige, and only two Korean animated films have exceeded the 1 million viewers mark.
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