D'oh! The Simpsons, Animation, and the Koreas

I think that when you look at the Korean animation industry, you can see globalization in a different way. Here is an interesting--but long--look at the history of animation in Korea during the 20th century (stopping in the '70s). It seems that Korean domestic animation was not as popular or as technically and stylistically advanced as foreign imports (mostly from the U.S. and Japan). It was interesting to me that early Korean animation relied heavily on classic Korean stories and legends, perhaps to provide the same sort of cultural legitimacy that canonical Western literature provided to films (as discussed in the High-Pop reading). Nowadays, it seems that many of the popular animated works in the U.S., such as The Simpsons, are actually drawn by Korean animation studios. Even North Korea is involved in this business of subcontracting animation projects. So, while the Koreas are heavily involved in the global animation market, it is not a uniquely or overtly Korean product that is being marketed and sold. Rather, Korean talent produces products that are actually culturally foreign to most Koreans. This is different from the dramas, movies, or music part of hallyu, which market Korean culture and identity in various forms to global audiences.

*Because I was curious, I found some information on Mazinger (Mazinga) Z, which is referenced in some of the episodes of the drama we had to watch for this week. There were a lot of Korean and non-Korean pop cultural references in Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang, including to Pretty Woman, Love Actually, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, and other t.v. dramas (Full House, for one). Definitely trying to appeal to a contemporary youth audience, no?