'Pororo the Little Penguin'

Korean animation is sweeping the world, promoting the culture to a global audience. "Pororo the Little Penguin," which began airing on Education Broadcasting System in 2003, has been exported to 81 nations so far, including France where it has won viewing ratings of a whopping 57 percent on the country's largest terrestrial channel TF1. "Iron Kid" recently began airing across the U.S., topping the ratings list of terrestrial channels. "King of Card Mix Master" has been exported to 25 nations, and "Janggeum's Dream" to 27. Korean animation earned US$66.8 million from exports in 2006, compared to the $24.5 million earned overseas by Korean cinema. These cartoons for kids are emerging as a new edge of the Korean Wave.

The popularity of Korean animation fuels spin-off effects, boosting exports of merchandise based on the characters. Some 340 kinds of Pororo products have been created, generating W200-300 billion (US$1=W1,049) in sales and W10 billion in character royalties.

Korean-made online games for children are also growing in popularity around the world. The well-known "Maple Story" boasts some 76 million subscribers in 58 countries including Japan, China and the U.S., and has spawned hundreds of character products and comic book series. The Korean online children's game industry earned $672 million in exports in 2006, triple the size of the import market and up 19 percent from $565 million in 2005.

Children's books are another area at the forefront of the new Korean Wave. In 2006 alone, some 1,000 publishing rights deals were struck at five major international book fairs including the Taipei International Book Exhibition.

"The Korean Wave, which began in around 2000 with exports of Korean dramas and music to Asian nations, has now expanded to the children's cultural product market," said Kim Jin-kyu, an industries promotion director at the Korea Culture and Content Agency. "Because children who appreciate Korean pop culture are likely to continue consuming it as they grow up, it's important to foster business focused on children's products."

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Source: Digital Chosunilbo
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200805/200805270021.html