Casey Chong presents a selection of essential Korean animated features you need to see…
The animated features or movies are mostly synonymous with the ones made in Hollywood and Japan. However, Korean animation also has its place in delivering its goods. Whether they captivate the audiences with traditional hand-drawn 2D style or a blend of a more eye-popping 3D visuals, Korean animated features often incorporate their stories with human emotions and not to forget, culturally and socially relevant themes. With that said, here is our pick for the best Korean animated features to add to your watchlist…
Green Days (2010)
Co-directors Ahn Jae-Hoon and Han Hye-Jin opted for the painstakingly retro approach of hand-drawn their animation in pencil, which reportedly took 11 years to accomplish with the help of 14 animators. The result? Green Days is one of the best-looking 2D animations ever made, with a painterly-like visual palette evoking a sense of warm nostalgia, given its 1970s setting, from the sight of its idyllic rural town to the spot-on 1970s pop culture references, notably the part where the students watch Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw-starred tearjerker classic Love Story in a theatre, complete with the animated versions of the two stars.
The movie explores the classic coming-of-age story of three teenagers including former relay runner Yi-Rang (voiced by Park Shin-Hye), who befriends a transfer student from Seoul, Soo-Min (Oh Yeon-Seo), and has a crush on the shy Cheol-Soo a.k.a. Charles (Song Chang-Eui). Familiar themes of youth romance, ambition and growing up are wonderfully incorporated here with great voice acting all around.
Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (2011)
Here’s a story about the titular hen (voiced by Moon So-Ri), who’s been longing for freedom and successfully escaped from the battery cages by pretending to die. The farmer dumps her with the rest of the dead hens, allowing her to subsequently sneak into the wild. Such a premise in Leafie, A Hen into the Wild sounds like it’s the right fit for a Disney animated feature, and while it sure feels like one at times, complete with talking animals and all, Oh Sung-Yoon’s 2011 adaptation of Hwang Sun-Mi’s children’s novel “The Hen into the Wild” doesn’t sugarcoat the underlying law of nature, specifically a domesticated hen like Leafie wandering around the uncharted territory.
In other words, the movie isn’t afraid of incorporating the morbid theme of death with the fiercely persistent One-Eyed Weasel (Kim Sang-Hyeon) appearing as a predator who only cares about hunting live prey for food. Still, Sung-Yoon manages to balance the grim subject with both a delightful and poignant tale of motherhood, love and searching for identity. It’s worth noting that the movie’s ending differs from the somber conclusion in the original version and a rather optimistic finale in some international releases.
Satellite Girl and Milk Cow (2014)
If the title sounds odd, that’s because co-writer and director Jang Hyeong-Yoon intended as such, boasting a quirky premise about a lonely KITSAT-1 satellite from outer space turned human girl (voiced by Jung Yu-Mi) and a disgruntled young musician turned into a milk cow (Yoo Ah-In). The movie even features a Merlin (Lee Don-Yong) but it’s not what you normally picture the appearance of a famous wizard since he comes in the form of a… toilet roll! It’s hard not to see this as the whimsical Studio Ghibli-like animation but Satellite Girl and Milk Cow remains in a league of its own in the Korean animation with wonderfully offbeat characters coming from the trio (Satellite Girl, Milk Cow and Merlin).
Jung Yu-Mi particularly shines the most with her distinctly deadpan voice acting that suits the robotic-like Satellite Girl, who gradually develops feelings for Milk Cow as the story progresses. The movie also delves into the unlikely but surprisingly bittersweet romance between the two titular characters while it packs enough humor, fantasy, and mischievous charm throughout its lean 81-minute running time.
Oseam (2003)
Clocking at less than 80 minutes, Oseam packs enough lyrical beauty and melancholy in this gorgeously animated feature. Director Sung Baek-Yeop, who also co-adapted the screenplay from Jeong Chae-Bong’s novel of the same name, details a poignant story of two orphans – one’s a taciturn blind sister, Gami (Bak Seong-Yeong) and the other is her hyperactive younger brother, Gilson (Kim Seo-Yeong) – as they take shelter at a Buddhist temple. The visuals are pleasing to look at, but it was the heart of the story that resonated the most.
Oseam emphasizes heavily on the religious themes of spiritual yearning and purity, particularly from the perspective of the naïve Gilson, who still believes he will find their mother someday because his older sister can’t bring herself to tell him the truth. The third act is especially tragic and bittersweet, while it’s hard not to root for these orphaned siblings perfectly voiced by Bak Seong-Yeong and Kim Seo-Yeong.
My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002)
A Grand Prix winner at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, co-writer and director Lee Sung-Gang explore the good old days revolving around the themes of adolescence and childhood memories of Nam-Woo (Ryu Deok-Hwan), a young boy growing up with his father already passed away. He is being taken care of by his widowed mother and his constantly nagging grandmother. His only friends include Jun-Ho (Sung In-Gyu) and a stray cat that he brings back home.
The story delves into Nam-Woo’s mixed feelings about being sent off to a boarding school and as days go by, his chance to escape from reality lies in the solace of an old lighthouse, a magic marble, and a mysterious titular girl in white. This allows Sung-Gang to touch on Nam-Woo’s fantastical world which is both surreal and enchanting. The movie may have been slow in its pacing but Sung-Gang’s deliberate direction justifies the story and his young protagonist frequently alternating himself between the mundane real world and the feel-good, dreamlike landscape.
Sky Blue (2003)
Originally known as Wonderful Days, co-writer and director Kim Moon-Saeng combines CGI and cel animation hybrid, giving it a distinctly 3D look and feel reflecting the post-apocalyptic futuristic story that takes place in 2142. The movie explores familiar themes of environmental disaster and not to mention, the class inequality between the people in the livable, state-of-the-art city of Ecoban and the barren wasteland. The latter echoes the Mad Max-like vibe, complete with scavengers and hunters.
The movie also slips into the love triangle between the red-haired Jay (voiced by Eun Yeong-Seon), childhood friend Shua (Choi Ji-Hoon) and Jay’s commanding officer, Cade (Oh In-Seong). Sky Blue may have been heavy-handed in places but this ambitious sci-fi still excels the most in its stunning visuals with slick animation and well-choreographed action sequences.
The King of Pigs (2011)
The King of Pigs marks the directorial debut of Yeon Sang-Ho, offering a harrowing look at school bullying and how the past trauma affects two former classmates, Hwang Kyung-Min (Oh Jung-Se) and Jung Jong-Suk (Yang Ik-June). The movie predominantly takes place in the past, detailing these students (Park Hee-Von and Kim Kkot-Bi respectively voiced the younger versions) enduring their dark days at school.
Sang-Ho doesn’t shy away from matter-of-fact brutality associated with bullying, violence and psychological abuse. Certainly not an easy movie to watch as Sang-Ho’s direction keeps pounding down on the pessimistic tone from start till the end, leaving no room for sunshine and rainbows but only deep into the bowel of despair.
The Fake (2013)
Yeon Sang-Ho’s follow-up to The King of Pigs continues the writer-director’s path to exploring pessimism in his second animated feature. But instead of school bullying, The Fake deals with the human fascination of faith and religion, particularly the devout mindset of gullible people from a rural village, who blindly believe everything a reverend and a church elder manipulate them in every way possible. These villagers never have doubts about donating money or buying bottles of so-called miracle water.
Likewise, Sang-Ho doesn’t back down on his subject matter and even features an unlikely protagonist in the form of Min-Chul (voiced by Yang Ik-June), a violent street thug and a compulsive gambler who frequently abuses his wife and daughter. However, he becomes the unexpected antihero who learns the truth about the scandal, which brings a sense of bleak irony to the overall story of evil vs evil angle. The only difference is that Min-Chul is seen as a lesser evil, despite him being an untrustworthy person all the while in the eyes of others, especially the local police.
Seoul Station (2016)
Positioned as a prequel to South Korea’s zombie movie blockbuster Train to Busan, Yeon Sang-Ho’s third animated feature is more accessible when compared to his King of Pigs and The Fake. But even with the popular zombie genre being the main theme, Seoul Station is still far from a mainstream-friendly animation. The story remains uncompromisingly bleak in its tone and style, beginning with Sang-Ho exploring social and class inequality, primal fear, and human nature upon encountering the unlikely zombie apocalypse.
Expect plenty of graphic violence and gore, coupled with an ominous sense of dread and uncertainty surrounding the fate of the three particular characters: an estranged girl (Shim Eun-Kyung’s Hye-Sun), a no-good boyfriend (Lee Joon’s Ki-Woong), and the girl’s alleged worrying father (Ryu Seung-Ryong’s Suk-Gyu) as they face their own dilemma within a single night. Themes of desperation and moral ambiguities seeped into the increasingly grim story and no doubt a great, must-see companion piece to the aforementioned 2016 feature film.
What are your favourite Korean animated movies? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
