What media content was most popular this past year, making people burst into laughter and tears?
The answers were found at the 2015 Korea Content Awards that took place at the COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, on Dec. 8.
The most loved cartoon among children this year was “Super Wings,” which won the presidential prize in the animation category. “Robocar Poli” also won a presidential prize, in the character category.
“Super Wings” is the story of an airplane named Hogi that flies all around the world delivering gifts to children. This cartoon got great viewer reviews after it was aired on the North American kids’ TV channel Sprout and on Jiajia TV in China.
“Robocar Poli” is about cars that can transform into robots and rescue people or other cars. It airs in 98 countries so far. Its licensed toys and other branded products are also highly popular among children around the globe.
The presidential prize in the comic strip category went to “God of High School.” This online comic strip tells the story of a high school boy who was Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, in a previous life. He takes part in a nation-wide martial arts tournament that seeks to find the best fighters all across Korea. The show was really popular this year.
In the soap opera category, the drama “Misaeng,” based on an online comic strip of the same name, won the top prize for its contribution to the development of the TV and film industry. The show is based on stories from Korean white collar workers.
Other noticeable awardees includes the company Dexter that contributed to producing big-budget movies. It established the first-ever Korean research and development center (R&D) that focuses on visual effects and technologies.
Another presidential prize winner was JJS Media, which greatly helped musicians from both Korea and elsewhere hold concerts here. It uses prediction and analysis technologies to break down the performing arts sector and to carefully plan concerts.
During his congratulatory remarks, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok said, “With their creativity and passion this year, these award-winners are the leaders of the creative industries, the shining future of the Korean content industry. Our government will spare no expense to support them so that next year we can continue to have more content that can help advance the international status of Korea.”
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr