Cartoons old and new feature at Seoul events

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- The world's leading cartoonists, animators and market
makers flocked to Seoul Wednesday, as two large events opened simultaneously to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the cartoon genre in Korea.

The Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF), the biggest
annual event of its kind in Asia, kicked off its five-day run under the theme
"100 Years of Korean Comics," inviting participants to see the oldest Korean
characters, including "Baby Dinosaur Dooly."
Attended by prominent cartoon creators both in Korea and from abroad, including
Huh Young-Man, Kim Dong-hwa, Abi Feijo from Portugal and Rastko Ciric from
Serbia, the 13th SICAF will offer cartoon fans a retrospective on the past
century of the genre's development, organizers said.
The event consists of three main parts: a cartoon exhibition, an animated film
festival and a trade fair in which conferences and promotional booths will open
for industry people.
The event's exhibition section, open to viewers for free at the COEX Convention
Hall in southern Seoul, will display the works of nearly 50 veteran, emerging and
digital cartoonists.
Opening with the newest episode of Britain's popular claymation series "Wallace &
Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death," the event's film fair section will screen
167 old and new animated films at Lotte Cinema near Konkuk University.
Created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations, all characters in "Wallace & Gromit"
are made from plasticine and clay on metal armatures. Since the first episode
aired in 1989, Wallace and Gromit, an absent-minded owner and his anthropomorphic
dog, have remained icons in British culture.
Japanese anime "Baton," produced by Shunji Iwai in conjunction with U.S.
animation company Studio Titmouse, will be introduced to fans for the first time.
The 50-minute animation uses a mix of rotoscoping, tradition 2D cell animation
and 3D computer graphics, and provides a chance for local creators to take a
glimpse at Japan's newest animation technologies, organizers said.
Foreign animation directors including Feijo, Ciric and Japan's Kato Kunio will
also attend the event.
The Seoul Character & Licensing Fair, which has grown into Asia's largest
cultural-content licensing show over the past years, also opened at COEX for a
five-day run through July 26.
The event, focusing mainly on connecting cartoon creators with buyers, is to be
attended by at least 168 big names in the character business market, including
BBC Worldwide, Paramount Pictures and Chorion, organizers said.
Established in 2002, the number of visitors to the event has risen by 10-15
percent annually, with the previous event drawing more than 180,000 participants,
according to the festival's Web site.
With the domestic character market growing more than three-fold over the past
five years, largely due to the success of characters like Bororo and Pucca, local
firms are hoping to gain increased business through the event.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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