SICAF President Promoting Cartoons
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By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Son Ki-hwan, one of Korea's ardent cartoon gurus and the president of the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF) organizing committee seemed eager and ready to launch the annual event at a press conference Tuesday.
"I hope SICAF will pursue the artistic value of cartoons. It's all about our love and passion toward animation", he said.
As a professor of the Department of Cartoon and Animation at Sangmyung University, Son also shared his worries over the Korean cartoon market. "It's true the cartoon market is not as successful as before. Educational cartoons are the only area continuously growing. Other countries create cartoons for entertainment, but considering our drive toward education, many companies are using cartoons simply as a tool for education", he said.
Despite the difficulties in the market, Son is proud of the event and his role.
"If this was for profit, SICAF would have failed a long time ago. They say that companies and people are losing interest in the festival, but now it's the only one that honors cartoons", Son said.
Meanwhile, winners of the SICAF awards were also announced Tuesday. Artist Park Ki-jung won the award for best cartoonist, while director Kang Han-young won the award for best animation director. Park is a legendary cartoonist and is renowned for his caricatures of public figures, especially politicians. Kang is a successful animation director who created the TV animation series "From Apennine to the Andes" and the feature length animation film "Yeowoobi, the Five Tailed Fox" (2006).
The SICAF will be held at Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) and Lotte Cinema (Konkuk University branch) from May 21-25.
Staff Reporter
Son Ki-hwan, one of Korea's ardent cartoon gurus and the president of the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF) organizing committee seemed eager and ready to launch the annual event at a press conference Tuesday.
"I hope SICAF will pursue the artistic value of cartoons. It's all about our love and passion toward animation", he said.
As a professor of the Department of Cartoon and Animation at Sangmyung University, Son also shared his worries over the Korean cartoon market. "It's true the cartoon market is not as successful as before. Educational cartoons are the only area continuously growing. Other countries create cartoons for entertainment, but considering our drive toward education, many companies are using cartoons simply as a tool for education", he said.
Despite the difficulties in the market, Son is proud of the event and his role.
"If this was for profit, SICAF would have failed a long time ago. They say that companies and people are losing interest in the festival, but now it's the only one that honors cartoons", Son said.
Meanwhile, winners of the SICAF awards were also announced Tuesday. Artist Park Ki-jung won the award for best cartoonist, while director Kang Han-young won the award for best animation director. Park is a legendary cartoonist and is renowned for his caricatures of public figures, especially politicians. Kang is a successful animation director who created the TV animation series "From Apennine to the Andes" and the feature length animation film "Yeowoobi, the Five Tailed Fox" (2006).
The SICAF will be held at Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) and Lotte Cinema (Konkuk University branch) from May 21-25.
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