The Korea Culture and Content Agency has been a familiar force in funding animated projects in the past decade. Now the government agency is expanding its role by establishing a full-service, state-of-the-art 2D/3D animation studio designed to support and foster the expansion of the country’s animation production.
The new studio will offer a one-stop facility for planning, producing and marketing original animated properties for distribution worldwide. As part of this three-year, six-million dollar program, The KOCCA Animation Studio will also provide an experienced project manager to oversee each project throughout the production and marketing process.
KOCCA will select projects for the non-profit facility, providing selected producers with the studio’s production infrastructure, office space and production expenses. The producers will not need to remit for any of the services provided by the new KOCCA-managed studio. Two shows among the first 41 applicants have already been selected and production will begin during the first half of 2006. An additional ten projects are to be produced with additional funding throughout the year.
‘The KOCCA Animation Studio underscores our deep commitment to supporting the opportunities of Korean animation producers and furthering Korean content throughout the world,’ says Suh Byoung-Moon, CEO of KOCCA. ‘The KOCCA studio provides Korean animation producers with a world-class production facility and a highly trained and experienced staff, all designed to help Korean producers transform their creative ideas into reality.’
Fostering the growth of the creative content industries in Korea under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, KOCCA actively promotes Korean companies involved in animation, character licensing, music, comics, games and mobile and internet content. Through programs such as The Star Project, KOCCA awards international marketing help and small grants to selected projects. Shows such as Barunson and G&G’s MaskMan, Sunwoo’s Mixmaster and Iconix’s Pororo the Little Penguin series have received support from KOCCA in recent years.
