Korean animation

This is a brilliant idea!Everland hosted an art display in their amusement park as part of their Everland Happy Halloween celebration. Grade school children were asked to submit their ideas for Halloween monsters. Those drawings were given to art students at Hongik University, a renowned arts university in Seoul, who used the drawings as inspiration for further drawings.

There were tons of displays that looked just like this in the European themed square. Here's some close-ups of the monsters the kids and art students imagined:

An angry Korean goblin.

Cool Goggles!

In this one, the Hongkik student changed very little, but the design still came out unique and cute.

The kid who designed this must hate carrots.

A selected few drawings got the deluxe treatment and were made into displays. Here are some of those:

A D-War inspired kid drawing.

An art student's take on it.

The deluxe version.

The final display at Everland.

This pumpkin goblin by a 4 year-old is my favorite.

Character designers take note; I think this model of creating characters is brilliant and should be used more often. Don't you think kids come up with some great ideas?

Thanks Everland, Hongik students and kids for the Halloween treat!

There is one more Everland and Halloween related post coming tomorrow.

Here's Popeye!

He's not sponsoring spinach, but Star Popeye Snack (Byeol Popeye) produced by Samyang Food. I found this at a stationery/toy shop. I think this is a very rich package design. On the front, Popeye is saying, "star candy included".And he wasn't lying. There is white sugary star candy mixed in with the mildly flavored noodle cookies.

I've noticed a trend with trade characters for businesses and restuarants in Seoul. They love to give the thumbs up!

This is a kimbab giving a thumbs up for Kimbobnara.

This characterization of kimchi is great! It's giving the thumbs up for a place called Kinchi Cook.

I think this is an unlicensed use of Mu Yong Hae, a salary man in a popular newspaper comic series called Mu Daeri. He's giving a thumbs up for a place called Sports Seoul, which is also the name of a newspaper.

This puppy is giving a thumbs up and a wink for Pet Drug House. The wink is also a common expression.

Ha ha, even grandma's part of the thumbs up club!

This poor goofy chicken of Apgujeong Dalkkochi doesn't even have any thumbs! I think it's trying to give a thumbs up so it can be like all the other trade characters. But it looks like it's giving a thumbs down. Or is it pointing?

Pointing is another common gesture these trade characters use. This ant is pointing up from the side of a Sein Design truck.

This sprite is pointing off into the horizon on a PC bang (internet room) sign.

I've got more trade characters that I'll post about on another day. Enjoy!

Korea has an animation museum. It's the only one in Korea and it's located in Chuncheon.

There are various sections, many of which are somehow interactive. There's a section that describes some of the history of animation, sections about the production of the animation process, a section of old Korean comics and more.
The section on animation from different regions in the world is a lot of fun. It displays character toys from those places. The section on North Korean animation was interesting, especially the way in which some animation is co-produced there.

Unfortunately, the exhibits are written mostly in Korean, so if you can't read Korean, you might not get as much out of it. Fortunately, animation is visual in nature, so you can understand most of what's going on.If you live in Korea, this is worth the visit. Even if you don't like the museum, Chuncheon is a beautiful natural city and there is a peaceful view of Lake Hyeonamni behind the museum. You can also check out the crazy art pieces made of reused junk scattered around the museum. My favorite is a Chinese style dragon made of tires.