North Korea Souvenir Buttons

These are souvenir buttons from the North Korean city of Kaesong.
I thought you might appreciate seeing some North Korean design in practice.

I'm particularly fond of the color choice in this one above.

The central theme of these buttons is the reunification of North Korea and South Korea.

Although these buttons were purchased in Kaesong, their packaging indicates that they were originally from Pyongyang. Pyongyang and Kaesong are amongst the few North Korean cities open to foreign tourists, including South Koreans.

If you'd like to learn more about this recently started Kaesong tour, Dr. Edward Reed of the Asia Foundation has written an insightful write-up about it.

What are your thoughts?

More About Podori

Here's more about Podori, the New Police for the New Millenium!

Podori is the mascot for the Korean National Police Agency. He has been presented on Korea & Animation before. Here is what has been learned about him since then.

This sticker was placed by the Seoul Police Department inside of a subway station. Look very closely at the lower right-hand corner and you'll see the signature of Lee Hyeon Se. Lee, often upheld as the most famous comic book artist in Korea, apparently designed Podori.

Here are some close-ups, insights, and translations from that sticker:

It appears Podori can patrol Seoul apartments by flying around with a Doraemon-like helicopter cap. Here he is observing how careless Seoul citizens are.

Podori: Wow, they don't even bother identifying their guests before opening the door!

Podori: Milk and newspapers are stacked up outside. They must have been gone for a long time.

Podori: They don't turn off the light while out at night!

Podori is a very respondent police officer.

Podori: Freeze!

Crook: Oh! That was so fast!

Woman: Oh my! It's only 3 minutes after I reported this!

Podori isn't afraid to put troublemakers in their place.

Angry Wife: Beat him! Spank him harder! Because he's an alcoholic!

Upset Daughter: I hate my dad!

Sound Effects: Spank! Spank!

Watch out criminals, because Podori is watching you even more closely!

Podori: Big ears to better hear citizens.

Podori: Big eyes to better catch thieves with.

Crook: Argh! It's Podori!

And here's a treat. The other police mascot! Although, she isn't seen around as much as Podori. I wonder what her story is?

Cute Short Animation by Studio Moziri

Here's a little homegrown Korean animation for you:

Director Yong Chan Kim is really sad that his animation has barely any views on YouTube. So, he wanted to share it with all of you readers of this blog. He created this with the help of Technical Director, Park Min Sun.

You can learn more about his emoticon characters, Pip Man & Pip Girl, over at Director Kim's own blog, Moziri.com. Or you can view more of his animations over at YouTube.

The characters in this animation will be familiar to Korean handphone users. Emoticons are pushed wildly to their limits in text messages here. In fact, Director Kim's own niece may be the emoticon champion!

Enjoy! \(^ _ ^)/

Oh, by the way, Director Kim has promised us an interview so we can learn more about his work in a big animation studio (not his personal hobby, Studio Moziri). Feel free to send in your questions for this upcoming interview!

"SEND 'EM IN!" L(` 0 ` )

Matthew Forsythe Sketches You Might Dig

Matt Forsythe, author of Ojingogo, has posted some traditional Korean related sketches you just might dig. Click on an image to visit his website and learn more about it.
Sheesh! Just look at that lazy bird hitching a ride on that overloaded A-frame! At Matt's blog, you can look at the process he took to ink this detailed drawing.

This more quick and simple one is his Hanbok sketch. It's a warm up sketch for his upcoming Ojingogo book posted about previously on this blog.

Pots of kimchi, hanbok, the artist's signature in hangul--and that's just in these couple of drawings! If you like these Korean inspired sketches, maybe you'll enjoy a visit to Matthew Forsythe's website. You can just dig around there for a long time and find all sorts of fun stuff (sometimes delightfully Korea related).

Leaf On Head Disease: Cured!

She has the cure!Kim Soo Youn, animator do-it-all at DNA Production Co., has the answer to this previously posted question: what does the leaf on a character's head represent? It turns out that a leaf on the head isn't a disease. Soo Youn confirms that it is a sign that the creature is magical.

She points out that the Japanese character Totoro (pictured above in Beijing) has this leaf on his head. Also, these magical characters can often shape shift. That makes perfect sense! The leaf works as a marker of their magical abilities as well as help the viewer keep track of the character as they shape shift. And it looks cool, too.

Question answered!

Are there any other symbols in animation like this that confuse you, too?