Tired of anime? These animated projects from South Korea are for you.
Korean animation is gradually emerging from the shadows and winning the love of viewers. Until recently, South Korean studios focused on creating animation for major international streaming services, but today there are more and more auteur projects.
For those who want to get acquainted with the developing animation industry in Korea, we offer a list of the best projects.
1. Seoul Station, 2016
An animated prequel to the movie Train to Busan, which has already become a classic of Korean animation. An old man bitten in the neck bleeds to death in an underground passageway near a train station, but passersby pretend not to notice him.
In the evening, the wounded man dies without waiting for help, and the body disappears without a trace. An epidemic has spread through the city, and a mysterious virus transmitted by a bite is turning people into zombies.
To save yourself, you must leave the infected area, but this is not easy because the government has ordered the area sealed off and no one is allowed outside.
2. Wonderful Days, 2003
The events take place in the year 2142. The world has been destroyed by an ecological catastrophe. The last stronghold of human civilization, the city of Ecoban, is located on a small island in the Pacific Ocean.
The structure of Ecoban is far from ideal: inequality reigns here, the rich exploit the poor, who are forced to work in inhumane conditions for food.
When the level of pollution began to decrease, the authorities provoked another ecological disaster, because the city functions thanks to energy obtained from contaminated waste. Will there be a hero capable of resisting this system?
3. The King of Pigs, 2011
Kyung-min and Jong-suk studied together and were the main outcasts of the class. They were cruelly bullied, harassed for their appearance and poverty. Growing up, the two men remained losers.
Kyung-min went bankrupt and killed his wife in a fit of rage. Jong-suk dreamed of becoming a writer, but was forced to work as a ghostwriter, writing other people's autobiographies.
The old friends reunite to pour their hearts out and remember another man of the past, Kim Chul, nicknamed The King of Pigs by his classmates.
4. Oseam, 2003
Five-year-old Gilson and his blind older sister, Gami, find refuge in a small Buddhist monastery. Gami lost her sight in a fire that killed their mother, and since then the children have survived only through the care of other people.
At the monastery, the brother and sister help with chores, and the monks give them shelter. However, Gilson's hyperactivity has become a real test of patience for the monastery's residents. Despite his carefree nature, the little boy misses his mother and is sometimes overcome by melancholy.
The monk invites the boy to spend the winter with him in the mountains to master the art of meditation. Gilson agrees, not knowing what the journey will lead to.
5. My Beautiful Girl, Mari, 2002
A schoolboy named Nam-woo is going through hard times because his friend Jun-ho is going to study in Seoul. One day, the two friends go for a walk and visit a small toy shop. There Nam-woo's attention was drawn to a glowing ball in which something alive seemed to be trapped.
Since the boy saw the ball, amazing things started to happen to him: he seemed to have learned to move into a parallel fantasy world where he meets a mysterious girl named Mari.
Although the girl does not speak, she has great empathy and becomes Nam-woo's guide to the land of dreams, where he can wait out all the hardships.