When our group was agreed on creating a poster for South Korean animation exploring its culture, peak, and modern day I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Animation is often associated with fun, creativity, and vibrant visuals. But when I started digging into my chosen topic – the challenges faced by the South Korean animation industry I quickly realized there’s a much heavier history behind the scenes.

South Korean animation didn’t exactly have the smoothest start. One of the most striking things I learned was how the industry’s early growth was stunted under authoritarian rule. During the 1960s to 1980s, the South Korean government heavily censored media. Animation, like other forms of art, was seen as a tool for political messaging rather than a creative industry, effectively bottlenecking productions to coincide with political ideology. It was tool, not art. Studios weren’t allowed the freedom to explore original stories, characters, or ideas. The focus was often nationalistic or propagandistic, and because of strict controls and low investment, creativity suffered. It’s ironic – animation is supposed to be about imagination, but during those years, the space for it barely existed.

Things started to shift in the 1990s when South Korea transitioned into a democracy, and suddenly the floodgates opened for new content. But just when it seemed like the industry could finally bloom, another challenge appeared – one that’s still relevant today: outsourcing.

A lot of people don’t realize how many iconic Western animations from The Simpsons to Avatar: The Last Airbender were actually animated in South Korea. Studios there became known for their technical skill and fast turnaround times. The problem? They weren’t making their own shows. Instead, they were helping other countries bring their visions to life. South Korean animation became the ghost in the machine ever-present, but rarely acknowledged.

This outsourcing trend coupled with the ‘Korean Wave’ (Hallyu) of the 2000’s – present day, saw K-pop and K-drama’s swept the West led to what I think is one of the most frustrating parts of the industry’s story: it started to fade into obscurity. While South Korea was animating some of the most recognizable shows in the world, its own homegrown animation scene struggled to gain recognition. Coproduction helped keep studios afloat financially, but it also meant that South Korean voices were often left out of the final creative product.

Creating the poster with the rest of the team really helped me see the full picture the vibrant cultural roots, the golden era moments, and the modern resurgence with webtoons and streaming platforms. But for me, exploring the challenges was the most eye-opening part and overall I’m happy with the way everything went.

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Here is the poster!

Peer Review;

I feel the process went very smoothly, we all got along and often discussed aspects of our poster. Regarding teamwork; communication and a streamlined workflow paved the way for a refreshing and enlightening assignment. However we did have shortcomings, as conveyed by our lecturer – despite the interesting nature of each of our topics individually we should have made an effort to connect all our information, otherwise it comes off more like a history class poster. I believe everyone of the 5 members contributed equally.