To Inbetween Or Not To Inbetween ?

With more than 16 secondary institutions in South Korea churning out a new crop of animators every year, the competition is tough. 

So, is it worth the effort when most animators in Seoul just end up inking and drawing foreign content --as opposed to their own-- and there are literally thousands of South Korean animators around that keep wages low?

These are tough questions to answer, especially when the global economy is a ravenous beast that will simply seek for cheaper animation production elsewhere should conditions for South Korean animators improve. 

These realities have lead to lively 'animated' debate that continues on within South Korea to this day. Grievances are annually aired at the Seoul International Cartoon Animation Festival (SICAF) forums where industry leaders and critics lament the fact that very little truly Korean product is made while everyone is too busy drawing America-centric or 'Western' product.

The optimists see the Western work as a good learning experience that enables a studio to build up skills and eventually bank-roll their own efforts while the pessimists see lost opportunity from wasting time, solely slaving over the work of others.   

Perhaps between these two poles there is a reality that defies simplistic positive or negative generalizations?

Maybe, just maybe the cup doesn't have to be half full or half empty as maybe it can simply be deemed half a cup!

Roberto, aka 'Midodok' is an interesting individual in that he's an American that went to work in South Korea as an animator.  No, he didn't go heading up a production team with a suitcase full of hard disks and sketches seeking for a cheap and reliable animation studio to bring concepts to life.

Roberto experienced life as an inbetweener working long days in an expensive city. His journey is unique for Roberto had his feet grounded in differing cultures in cosmopolitan Los Angeles before experiencing the life of a Korean animator for himself.

Yeah, maybe Roberto's experience can never truly be construed as unbiased, neutral or an attempt to truly articulate the reality of the industry for Roberto could always leave.

Nonetheless, his experiences are those of an explorer and as he reveals, they are those of one navigating interesting experiences in life.

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When did you decide you wanted to be an animator?
 
I've always loved cartoons and drawing.  When asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I always answered that I wanted to be a cartoonist.  My elementary school offered special after school programs, of which my favorite were always the art classes, drama, and particularly the cartooning and video production classes taught by a cartoonist whom I really looked up to.  That really boosted my already existing interest in these areas.

As I grew and matured, so did my interest in cartoons.  Japanese animation taught me that cartoons could be much deeper and involving than the funny cartoons I was used to.  I also began to realize that cartoons, and children's media in general, were a very meaningful part of our lives.  Children's media was something that I wanted, and still want to make a positive contribution to.

How did you first get the idea of going to Korea to do animating? 
 
Upon graduating college, I really wanted the chance to see some of the world.  So, I applied for the Luce Scholarship- a prestigious fellowship that allows recent college graduates and young professionals to work in Asia in various professions.  And I got it! 

I had made the focus of my college education children's media and wanted to learn about children's media in other cultures.  So, the Asia Foundation (who works alongside the Luce Foundation) found a placement for me at Dong Woo Animation in Seoul, South Korea.  I eagerly took this placement, although I wasn't completely sure what I was getting into.
 

What was the first ani studio you ever worked for? 
 
While in college, I interned for a semester at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, California in the development department.

How long did you work in Korea and how many studios did you ink and draw for? 
 
I was in Korea for about two years.  While there, I worked for three different companies: Dong Woo Animation, Grafizix Ltd., and Chung Dahm Institute (CDI). 

Dong Woo Animation was my scholarship placement, so I spent my first year there.  They are the biggest producer of animation in Korea.  Although they are increasingly doing local work, most of their work is primarily done for major animation studios in the United States, Japan, as well as a couple French and Canadian studios.  Dong Woo was very kind to take me in as an intern.  I was able to explore the many aspects of the animation process there.  This included working for a challenging two months as an inbetweener.  My main asset to Dong Woo was my English ability.  I often helped the translators with their work.

Grafizix and Chung Dahm Institute hired me as a consultant.  They were less established animation companies than Dong Woo but more focused on creating their own content.  In fact, content creation was a completely new venture for CDI.   This excited me a lot, as I think content creation is where the real fun is.  I did a lot of script revision and research for Grafizix.  For CDI, I did research, some content creation and designed some images.  CDI really like my drawing style a lot, which was flattering!

Did you understand what being an 'inbetweener' entailed when you began working? Do you want to keep drawing inking and drawing the ideas of others now that you've really experienced that factory environ? 
 
I knew what an inbetweener was and I knew that lots of inbetweening work was done in Korea.  Inbetweening work is no joke, and those who do it well ought to get more credit than they do.  It is a low paying and long hours kind of job, however, it is the standard entry point for many Korean animators.

Life in the inbetweening department was very challenging for me.  It took me forever just to get enough skill to draw a single smooth line!  However, I ended up inbetweening a big monster for Yu-Gi-Oh GX and some shots for The Boondocks.  (Sometimes I wonder if they secretly didn't retake all my inbetweening efforts!!)

Life in the inbetweening department wasn't as bad as one might think.  My department was occupied mainly by young women who were really close to each other and had a diligent and positive attitude.  Their boss was also very sweet, kind to her team and kind to take me in.  So, even with the tight schedules and highly skilled work, life in the inbetweening department was more fun than I expected.

Although I can draw, and love to draw, drawing isn't how I'll likely make my own career.  So, I don't think I'll continue that.  As I think creativity and creation is where the real fun is, I'd like to focus on that if I can.  Although, one never knows!

Oh, and we never inked.  All inbetweening is done with mechanical pencils and colored pencils.  Those sheets are then scanned into a computer.

It's unusual for a foreigner to work in Korean animation. Do you think you were treated differently to Koreans? 
 
Absolutely.  Being a friendly foreigner opened up many opportunities for me.  The desire to learn English is a huge force in Korea, so many people just want a chance to work on their English ability with you.  Real friendships would quickly formed from there.

There is also a sort of cachet that goes along with being a Westerner.  Since many companies see entering the Western market as critical to the financial success of their content, knowing something about the Western market really gave me an edge. 

I'd say Korean animators are an open and friendly group in general.  There is a real family-like atmosphere in Korean companies and particularly in animation companies.  Perhaps this is because animation is a stressful and unglamorous line of work in Korea, and they need any support they can get.  Or perhaps because they spend practically all day (or night!) together.
 

Tell us about some of the projects you worked on. 

I worked on various projects over the span of two years.  Some of them only very briefly and indirectly, such as explaining what "ghost riding the whip" is for The Boondocks or deciphering sloppy storyboard notes for Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! while at Dong Woo.  Those were jobs where I was available for support, but not a direct influence on the projects.

Then there were projects which required more involvement, such as getting the preschooler show called Boom-Chiki-Boom translated into Spanish and then supervising the voice over acting.  Or rewriting a Boom Chiki Boom script to be more acceptable for a U.S. market.

Then there were projects which I was highly involved with.  While at the research and development department of Chung Dahm Institute, a major English language institute hoping to reach into the animation market, I was more responsible for guiding the direction of their untitled educational project.  I was a major creative force.  Unfortunately, due to financial and time constraints, this project ended earlier than I would have liked.

What are some of the pitfalls you encountered while working in that industry in Korea? 
 
Although many Koreans are very good at English, it would have been better if I spoke more Korean.  This could have helped me be more clear with my colleagues.  When working on projects, clarity is needed.  If I could redo it, I would have been more clear.  More clear about what was required of me and of them.  Also, more clear about the terms of our contract.  And more clear about our goals.  For instance, I started a webcomic project with an animation director which ultimately failed due to a lack of clear communication.

Part of this lack of clarity also came from my own difficulty navigating a different culture.  Hierarchies in Korea are alive and well, including in the animation industry.  As a foreigner, I was somewhat let off the hook from the rules of those hierarchies.  At the same time, it was hard to know my place and know what was appropriate for me.  Being assertive and even aggressive would have been better for me, rather than allowing the unfamiliarity of a foreign culture make me hesitate to overstep my boundaries.
 
Now that you've left Korea how do you feel about your whole Korean animation odyssey? Is there anything you want to share with others who might be considering going to Seoul to work in that biz? 

I was blessed with a really unique opportunity.  Now that I'm back in my home country, it's easy to sometimes feel as if it was all a big wonderful dream.  I've made many friends.  I've experienced Korean culture from an unusual perspective.  I've seen the good and bad of the Korean animation industry. 

It's hard to make sense of those two years of my life.  If anything, my time in Korea informs how I approach my career and place in animation.  I now truly realize the importance of creativity and leadership.  It's important to have a clear vision that people will follow.  A project without a vision will struggle greatly, and I witnessed too many projects that failed.  No amount of money can buy a project a heart.

I feel I must fight becoming jaded about the state of the Korean animation industry.  So I keep hopeful that their time to truly take the world by storm with the animation they "create" rather than "produce" will come.  I hope this for my animation brothers and sisters in Korea who I know yearn for this themselves.

Due to the Luce Scholarship, I had a very rare and unique opportunity to work in the Korean animation industry with both financial and structural support.  Most foreigners I've met working in Korean animation usually do so through a business partnership.  For example, an animation supervisor will be sent from 4Kids Entertainment to oversee the animation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rewind by being housed in Dong Woo.  This is the safest and best way to get directly involved in Korean animation.  The other alternative is to be a shrewd English teacher who can find a way to get involved in Korean animation.  This way you have the Visa and financial support of your English teaching job, which are really important.

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A big thank you to Roberto for sharing his unique insights with us. 

( It's very interesting to read about and ponder upon the blur between animating and edu content creating. It's also astounding that while Seoul is said to be the second biggest city on earth it's small enough for Roberto to have landed a job as content creator at CDI. I (Alex) remember them in particular because they paid me to interview unlike so many start-ups that were scrounging to make content and to make ends meet. I'm sure Roberto will come away from the Korean experience with warm memories of just how much work was going on there and the incredible variety of the work.

We've also got to hand it to the Koreans because they build things up from nothing but their sweat and toil. Sure, it's a dog eat dog [perhaps 'man eat dog'] city where you gotta be aware or you'll get taken for everything but overall, the people of Seoul are imbued with a collective why not try? attitude which is refreshingly real. )