Poster for Disney Animation ‘Zootopia 2’. Photo Walt Disney Company Korea
‘K-content’, which is enjoying global popularity, now scarcely draws lines around genres. When we say ‘K-content’, the likes of ‘K-pop’, ‘K-drama’, and ‘K-beauty’ readily come to mind, and diverse realms of South Korean popular culture are making their mark worldwide. ‘K-animation’ is no different.
Built on the worldwide boom of webtoons, ‘K-animation’ has taken root and is spreading largely through staffers at famous Hollywood studios and through the images of Korea they depict. The popularity of the Netflix animated feature ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’, realized by Sony Pictures earlier this year, proved as much, and that momentum extends to Disney Animation’s ‘Zootopia’ series.
Lee Sook-hee, set extension supervisor who worked on Disney Animation ‘Zootopia 2’. Photo Walt Disney Company Korea
More than 700 staff members took part in ‘Zootopia 2’, which opened on the 26th of last month. Quite a few of them are Korean. Among them are animators Lee Hyun-min and Choi Young-jae, who worked on character illustration and the ‘animating’ that brings those characters to life, and set extension supervisor Lee Sook-hee, who creates the environments and all the sets. For them, the identity of being ‘Korean’ has taken hold not as something rare or unfamiliar, but as a ‘source of pride’.
“Koreans are active in every field. I didn’t know these two well before coming here either, but this is an industry where one degree of separation connects everyone. There aren’t that many Koreans, but it’s true there are more than you might think. They’re active in every department. We have meetups and keep in touch through mobile messengers. I’ve been at Disney for nine years and worked seven years at my previous company, and colleagues from that company now work at Pixar or Disney.” (Lee Sook-hee, supervisor)
Animator Lee Hyun-min, who worked on Disney Animation ‘Zootopia 2’. Photo Walt Disney Company Korea
At times, the minority status of being ‘Korean’ within the large organization of Walt Disney Animation Studios becomes a conduit for deeper immersion in characters. Supervisor Lee Sook-hee and animator Lee Hyun-min said, “As Koreans here on our own, Judy’s character reminded us of the feeling of being a minority, which helped us understand her more deeply.”
The standing of ‘K-animation’, once limited to technical subcontracting for the world’s giant studios, has now risen to the level where Koreans are active at leading studios, and has developed to the point where global animated films readily use Korean culture as material. In fact, ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ surpassed the series ‘Squid Game’, long considered a representative Korea-based work, to rank No. 1 in total all-time views across all Netflix titles.
Animator Choi Young-jae, who worked on Disney Animation ‘Zootopia 2’. Photo Walt Disney Company Korea
“I also really enjoyed ‘Ke-de-hun’ (“K-Pop Demon Hunters”). That animation came out while we were in the thick of working on ‘Zootopia 2’. Colleagues I work with even often asked, ‘Have you seen “Ke-de-hun”?’ I watched the subtitled version and the English and Korean dubbed versions. It was really well made. These days, audiences definitely watch over multiple rounds, so it seems to give an even stronger feeling of wanting to find what they missed.” (Choi Young-jae, animator)
This naturally became an opportunity to widely spread, even within a giant Hollywood studio, both Koreans who had been a minority and Korean culture that had been constrained by minority status. After being recognized for their abilities over a long period, Koreans at Walt Disney Animation Studios are now on the verge of entering a new phase in which they feel pride in being Korean.
A scene from Disney Animation ‘Zootopia 2’. Photo Walt Disney Company Korea
“When I came to the U.S. 25 years ago, no one even asked if I was Korean. These days, even when I take an Uber, many people ask, ‘Are you Korean?’, and as the mother of two children, my kids also say there are many people at school who happily ask them, ‘Are you Korean?’. I can feel that more people are taking an interest and recognizing us, and accordingly I’m trying to show and talk about Korea’s good sides and good things.” (Lee Hyun-min, animator)
“In the past, Koreans were not easy to spot in this industry. But now the numbers have increased a lot, and we interact even while working in completely different departments. I believe there is at least one Korean in every department. It’s gratifying, and it creates a sense of bond. I’m proud.” (Lee Sook-hee, supervisor)
A scene from Disney Animation ‘Zootopia 2’. Photo Walt Disney Company Korea
The faces of those who heard that the results of their work, crafted far from home, are a hit in Korea were nothing but bright. Saying, “We heard it surpassed one million viewers, then it quickly became two million, and it’s already on the verge of three million,” their expressions were filled with joy. The new yet familiar story of the ‘Zootopia 2’ animals is being realized through the efforts of those at the forefront of Korea’s ‘K-animation’.
