South Korea has animated American cartoons for decades. Now, it wants the world to see its own

For the past 40 years, South Korean animators have been the invisible workforce behind many of North America’s most beloved cartoons.

These artists, often called “in-betweeners,” are responsible for drawing the majority of an episode’s roughly 30,000 frames.

But unlike studios in North America and Japan, South Korean production houses have struggled to create original animations that resonate with audiences, at home or abroad.

“The craft of animation is being done at a very high level, but it’s being done in ways that don’t allow for creative expression,” says Daniel Martin, associate professor of film studies at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon.

That’s changing, though. The recent success of “K‑Pop Demon Hunters” — a North American production about Korean culture — has triggered fresh debate about why South Korea hasn’t had its own animated hit; and a billion-dollar government investment hopes to unlock the nation’s unrealized animation potential.