by Olly RichardsIf you’re learning Korean or are interested in K-culture and you're looking to branch out from K-pop and K-dramas, give Korean anime a go!
To get you started, you’ll find 20 Korean animated shows and films to introduce you to a lesser-known aspect of Korean popular culture.
One thing you’ll want to know before diving in is the terms manhwa and webtoon.
Manhwa is used in Korea to refer to print comics/cartoons and is similar to Japanese manga. Webtoons are a uniquely Korean creation, and are digital comics in an episode format optimised to be read using a smartphone.
Now that's clear, let's get into this Korean anime list!
Pro Tip
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Table of Contents
A Quick Primer On Korean Anime
Korean anime is definitely not as well-known as Japan’s famous export, anime, but if you’re into animation, you’ll find some hidden gems.
Korean animation is sometimes called aeni (애니), shortened from the English word “animation” aenimeisyeon (애니메이션). In colloquial usage, aeni may also be used to refer to Japanese animation.
If you want to search for Korean animation, the term hanguk aeni (한국 애니) will bring up results from Korea.
Back in the day, popular animated characters in Korea were from the United States or Japan, both of which have huge stakes in the global animation industry.
Since then, Korean animated characters such as Pororo the penguin have gone on to become national icons.
Korea also plays a huge role in the global animation industry. You might (yet!) not have heard of shows like Lookism or films like Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox, but you’ll definitely be familiar with The Simpsons, Family Guy, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Did you know that part of the animation of these shows (any many others) were produced by Rough Draft Korea?
Korean Anime About Beauty
1. True Beauty
First released on Naver Webtoon in 2018, True Beauty tells the tale of teenager Ju-Kyung Lim, who has been bullied and tormented due to people thinking she’s ugly.
Fed up of feeling beat down for her appearance, she gets into the world of makeup tutorials and transforms herself into a goddess-like beauty as she navigates the difficulties of a society that judges people based on their physical appearances.
After a stint as a K-drama of the same name, the animated version of True Beauty was released in 2024. If you fancy a light-hearted slice of life romance that touches upon the struggles of beauty and physical appearances, True Beauty will be right up your street.
2. Lookism
Touching on similar themes as True Beauty, Lookism is another webtoon that explores the challenges of beauty standards in society, a very important topic in Korea.
Released on Naver Webtoon in 2014, Lookism was adapted as an animation for Netflix in 2020.
In this animation we are introduced to unpopular high school student Park Hyung Seok, bullied for his weight and with desires of escaping his school environment.
Just before he’s about to start his new school in Seoul, he suddenly finds himself in a tall and muscular body with a handsome face.
There’s a twist, as when he is using one of the bodies, the other one remains asleep. In the day he stays in his new body, reaping the privileges, but at night he is reminded of the harsh reality and discrimination of his original body.
Fairy Tales And Folk Tales
3. Oseam
This 2003 drama animation slipped under the radar for English speakers due to a limited release in France.
Oseam tells the story of two orphans, Gamie and her younger brother Gil-sun, as they seek refuge in a Buddhist temple. Gamie is blind and quiet, adapted to the tranquillity of the temple, and Gil-sun is active and full of enthusiasm.
The children lost their mother in the accident that took Gamie’s eyesight, but Gil-son doesn’t know this yet. Gil-son’s enthusiasm and curiosity lead him to make some life-changing discoveries. This sweet film is one to look up if you’re into fairy tales.
4. Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox
This 2007 animated film takes loose inspiration from the Korean folktale of the kumiho, the nine-tailed fox.
The kumiho is an ancient fox spirit that usually appears as a woman, stealing souls from humans to become more powerful.
This film introduces us to a five-tailed fox raised by aliens, who decides to transform into a young girl named Yobi when one of her alien friends is under threat.
This is a contemporary take on a Korean folklore tale that shares similarities with similar stories in China and Japan, boasting a beautiful animation style.
Comedy
5. Aachi and Ssipak
Likely up there with the weirdest films you’ve never seen, Aachi and Ssipak is a 2006 adult comedy film with a very unique plot.
In the future of Aachi and Ssipak, all energy and fuel resources have been depleted, leading people to make energy out of human excrement.
To control the production of this new energy source, the government implants chips in each citizen to monitor their defecation level, offering the highly addictive juicybars as an incentive.
Each twist and turn gets stranger and stranger, so I’ll leave you to work out this one yourself!
Fantasy
6. My Beautiful Girl, Mari
This 2002 animated film has a beautiful and distinct animation style which fans of surrealism and fantasy will love!
This Korean anime tells the story of Kim Nam-woo, who feels that everyone around him always leaves him. He enters a dream world to escape the difficulties of everyday life and encounters a girl, Mari, who helps him get through.
This is another beautiful animated fantasy type film by Seong-gang Lee, the same director as Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox. This film won the Best Feature Film Award at the 26th edition of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
7. The House
This is a beautiful 2011 animation with a distinctly fantasy plotline.
This film follows Ga-young, who moves to an old house in a rough around the edges area that hasn’t yet fallen into modernisation.
She discovers that she’s not alone in her house, which is up for demolition, and gets to know the spirit of the house.
This film offers a criticism of modern society, as it shows the comparison to the swanky downtown apartments when compared with Ga-young’s district.
Thriller
8. The King of Pigs
This 2011 psychological thriller was directed and written by Yeon Sang-ho, known for Train to Busan and the prequel Seoul Station as well as other Korean anime movies.
This one features a lot of heavy themes, so it’s not for the faint hearted. After going bankrupt, Kyung-min impulsively kills his wife.
Afterwards, he seeks out a friend from middle school, Jong-suk, and they reminisce about their middle school days, where they were categorised as ‘pigs’ due to their lower social status and wealth compared to the ruling ‘dogs’.
This is an unflinching account of issues around social class and hierarchy in the school environment, and is a hard-hitting film.
9. The Fake
Yes… this is another film entry directed by Yeon Sang-ho. This 2013 animated film is a critique of organised religion.
The setting is a rural village, where the citizens are dedicated to church leader Choi Gyeong-seok. However, it just so happens to be that Choi is a con man, looking to get away with defrauding the villagers through their religious devotion.
This is a tense thriller that was released after Yeon Sang-ho’s debut The King of Pigs. Korea has had a few high-profile scandals with religious fraud in the past, making this film all the more relevant.
Korean Anime Based On Books
10. Leafie, A Hen into the Wild
Released in 2011, this animated film is based on a popular Korean children’s novel, and follows the story of Leafie, a hen who has ambitions of becoming a mother and incubating her own eggs.
Living in a chicken farm with cages, this isn’t possible, so she sets out on an adventure to make it happen. Leafie ends up adopting a baby duckling, and the film is a heart-warming take on family and motherhood.
Korean anime doesn’t tend to do too well at the box office, and many animation companies struggle to get funding for making animated films or series. Leafie bucked the trend, becoming a box office hit.
11. Doggy Poo
If you’re looking at the title of this 2003 animation alone, it might not sound like the most appealing film. It’s definitely worth a watch for the beautiful stop-motion animation style.
Taking its inspiration from a 1968 children’s book published in Korea, the film follows Doggy Poo – a dog’s poo – as it tries to understand its purpose in life.
This is a relatively short film, and it touches on environmental themes, showing how fertiliser can be used to grow new plant life.
12. The Shower
This 2017 animated film is based on the 1952 short story “Rain Shower”, famous for its descriptions of the Korean countryside and the innocence of adolescent love.
The animated film puts colour to these depictions of the countryside, telling the story of a boy and a girl who meet by the stream and begin to get along well.
One day, they are caught in a sudden rain shower and everything changes… prepare yourself for the heart wrenching ending!
Sci-Fi
13. Wonderful Days
This 2003 animated film (also known as Sky Blue) is an entry in the sci-fi genre, featuring a world where environmental pollution has caused civilisation to crack.
This is another animated film that touches on issues of class struggles in Korea. Wonderful Days tells the story of Shua, a young man who lives in the wasteland outside of the futuristic and advanced city of Ecoban, extracting carbonite for those that reside inside the city walls.
This film is particular for its animation style, featuring cel-animated characters, but CGI backdrops, making it hold interesting visual appeal.
14. Noblesse
Originating on Naver Webtoon back in 2007, this series was adapted as an animation in 2015.
We are introduced to the mysterious Rai (full name: Cadis Etrama Di Raizel), a noble who has been asleep for close to a thousand years.
This series follows Rai as he gets to grips with contemporary life and embarks upon everyday life as a high school student, whilst trying to find out more about his past.
This is another animated series that will appeal to fans looking for something a little more on the sci-fi side.
Korean Anime For Kids
15. Pororo the Little Penguin
Pororo the Little Penguin is one of Korea’s most beloved characters, becoming a national treasure as the emblem of Korean kid’s animation.
Don’t expect incredible visuals or distinct animation styles here, Pororo the Little Penguin is very much a kid’s show.
However, if you’re looking for something simple and cute to watch, Pororo the Little Penguin is a great easy-to-follow show. There’s also a couple of Pororo films that you can check out.
Horror
16. Seoul Station
This 2016 animated film is a prequel to zombie horror film Train to Busan by Yeon Sang-ho. Unlike the titular film, this prequel takes place in Seoul Station, and follows three different main characters as they cope with a zombie epidemic.
This is a vicious animated film that takes a different approach to Train to Busan, focusing on main characters that exist on the margins of Korean society.
Whether you’ve already seen Train to Busan or not, if you’re into horror or zombie apocalypse films you’ll want to get Seoul Station on your watchlist.
Korean History
17. Chun Ta-il: A Flame That Lives On
This 2021 film tells the tragic real-life story of Chun Ta-il, a 22-year-old student who set himself on fire to protest the horrific working conditions in the sweatshops at Seoul Peace Market.
In the 1960s and 70s, Seoul Peace Market was criticised for poor working conditions, and Chun Ta-il’s decision ultimately impacted the creation of labour unions in Korea.
This film can give you an insight into an important moment in Korean history, as many factory workers, particularly young women, began to fight back against substandard working conditions that were leaving them with serious health problems.
18. Green Days: Dinosaur and I
This 2011 film is set in the 1970s in a rural town, and remarkably, the animation was hand-drawn in pencil, taking 11 years to make!
If that alone doesn’t entice you, its charming coming-of-age plot of the lives and aspirations of three adolescents will. This film has a nostalgic tone, and serves to remind the viewer of our lost past.
This film can give you an insight into life in rural Korea at a time before rapid urbanisation.
Short Films
19. Piropiro
This 2021 animation has a lovely art style and is a very simple and sweet story about two birds that fall in love with each other.
Piropiro is a bird from the forest and Dalle lives with a florist. They meet in front of the flower shop, and Piropiro wants to take Dalle and go and live in the forest with her.
With a simple plotline and an endearing art style, this is a short film perfect for weekend watching.
20. Kkum
If this list has left you wanting for something more experimental, then look no further than 2020’s Kkum, a very short black and white film that uses stop-motion and a Styrofoam set.
The film clocks in at just 9 minutes, so I won’t go into too much detail here. I’ll just tell you it’s about a devoted relationship between a mother and her son.
Korean Anime FAQ
What is Korean anime called?
Korean anime can be referred to as aeni (a shortened form of animation) or Korean animation. Aeni is often used to refer to Japanese animation in Korea, so Korean animation is sometimes the preferred term.
Are there any Korean animes?
Yes, shows like Lookism, True Beauty, and Noblesse were all based on manhwa webtoons. This makes them similar to Japanese anime. However, most Korean animations are films, not series.
Is Korea big on anime?
Japanese anime is very popular in Korea. Also, a lot of animated series from the United States have their production outsourced to Korea during some stages of the animation process.
The Korean animation industry has struggled with limited funding for Korean productions, but this is beginning to change.
Is anime Korean or Japanese?
The Korean animation industry has taken inspiration from the Japanese animation industry, but Japanese and Korean animation are two distinct concepts.
Anime typically refers to animation produced in Japan, or by a Japanese production company. In both Korean and Japanese, the respective words for animation are shortened forms of the word: aeni and anime.
Korean Anime For Everyone
So, there you have it!
Whether you’ve already dipped into Korean animation or you’re completely new, you’ll find a bit of everything from romance to sci-fi to fantasy in the list above.
Hopefully you've found something to add to your watchlist.
If you're looking for even more Korean content to watch, be sure to check out my list of the 12 best Korean TV shows as well as my list of the 21 must-watch Korean movies on Netflix.
Happy viewing!
