Korean Animation: From Adolescence to Adulthood, 1998-2003

This article will discuss the growth of Korean animation. A 1994 study reported that animation was Korea’s most important cultural export. The government has primed the industry with many incentives—initially, changing animation’s status from service to manufacturing which amounted to a 20 percent tax break, launching the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival, and inaugurating the first annual Korean animation awards, all in 1995 (see Lent and Yu, 2001), and later, providing subsidies and awards to animators and other financial assistance for the creation of centers, libraries, museums, and schools