Go Korea!

Discuss animated Western films that you know, for examples those from Disney or Pixar. In small groups, complete the following table:

Common features of animated Western films	Description
Hero	Encourage students to focus on personal qualities of each character
Heroine
Villain
Type of dramatic problem
Setting
Plot

Study the characters in the image. Make predictions about their roles in Legend of Blue. Compare your predictions in pairs. Discuss the reasoning behind your predictions. Look at the images in ‘Korean Animation: Fighting Spectacle with Substance' , Koreana vol 17, no 1, Spring 2003 (available at http://www.koreana.or.kr > Back Issues) . In what ways are these drawings similar to those in Disney and Pixar films? In what ways are they different? Make a list of the qualities which seem to appeal specifically to a Korean audience.

The article ‘Korean Animation: Fighting Spectacle with Substance' compares Korean animated films with those produced in Hollywood. The writer says ‘ Korean animation is different from that of Hollywood. Korean animators achieve their best work when, instead of striving for spectacle, they make humble but solid works that appeal to the emotions.' What do you think this means?

List films/TV series, which utilise spectacle as a major drawcard and films/TV series which explore the emotional journey of characters. Complete a PMI (Positives, Minuses, Interesting) chart for each type of film. For an example of a PMI chart, go to http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/WhereIsHe/tools/pmi.htm.

Increased interest in animation came with the arrival of American forces in Korea in the 1950s. There is still an American military presence in South Korea. Read an account by an American soldier who was in Korea from 1989 to1992 on http://www.kimsoft.com/korea/us-army3.htm. While he is responding to some specific tensions, this account explores the experience of being a soldier in a foreign country. Use a double entry journal to respond to some of the issues raised in this text:

Quotes and notes	Questions and reflections

Australian soldiers work in a diverse range of roles in various countries. Use this double entry journal as the basis for a class discussion about the skills required by soldiers in a foreign country.