K-Content News

 

Pororo turns 20: How a penguin transformed
Korea's animation industry

  Last Monday, November 27th, marked exactly 20 years since Pororo, the main character from the hit Korean animation " Pororo the Little Penguin," first aired on TV.
Experts are saying this penguin character has paved the way for Korean animation on the global stage. Our culture correspondent Song Yoo-jin has the Pororo story.

"It's Pororo!"


It's been 20 years since Pororo the little penguin started his adventure with his friends Eddy the fox, Loopy the beaver, Poby the polar bear, and Crong the dinosaur.
It all started with "Pororo's Father," the creator Choi Jong-il who had a vision of making an animation for toddlers.

"As Korea entered the animation scene a bit later, I believed that focusing on content for toddlers would be a way to compete with the powerhouse that is Japan.
Choosing animals over humans as the main characters helped sidestep potential cultural barriers when targeting the international market.
We specifically went with penguins – an animal loved by children yet not extensively showcased in animations."

Choi's strategy turned out to be successful.
The animation was exported to France the same year it was released, hitting a 47-percent viewer rating on the French channel TF1.
So far, it's been exported to over one-hundred-80 countries.
However, these numbers are not all that Pororo has achieved.
It opened a new chapter for Korean animations.
Before Pororo, Korean animators were primarily subcontracted by production companies in the U.S. and Japan.
But Pororo was made entirely by Korean animators, from character development and plot creation.

"In the content industry, one mega-hit is crucial for a country to become globally competitive.
That was Pororo.
Its success comes from tapping into the niche market of toddlers, which was traditionally viewed as less lucrative even in animation powerhouses like the United States and Japan."

After Pororo came Korean originals like Pinkfong's Baby Shark, Lava, Cocomong, and Tayo the Little Bus, thanks to increased investment.
Their global success transformed Korea's animation landscape from a subcontractor to exporter.
Despite these strides, the Korean animation market remains largely unexplored due to a heavy focus on marketable kids' content.

"Korea could shift its focus to webtoons, as successful cases of turning webtoons into animations in the past will make it easier to attract investment.
The combination of a well-loved webtoon and Korea's advanced animation technology means there's the potential to start a fresh wave of success."

This could elevate Korean animations to being a major cultural export item like K-pop and K-dramas.
Song Yoo-jin, Arirang News.