Yoo Jae-myeong, CEO of Studio Mir,“The outlook for Korean animation is bright.”

2023.05.22

“I think the current state of Korean animation is that even a small wave can leave a big impression. It has great potential and has a lot of room for growth. “The problem is physical strength.”

 


 

Yoo Jae-myeong, CEO of Studio Mir, said this in a recent interview conducted at the Studio Mir headquarters in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. Yoo Jae-myeong, CEO of Studio Mir, which is considered the top tier of the domestic animation industry, is busier than ever, with a full schedule of meetings before and after interviews. Mir has partnerships with major companies such as DreamWorks and Netflix, and recently participated in Season 2 of Disney+’s animation series ‘Star Wars: Visions’. 


CEO Jae-myeong Yoo said several times in an interview that “he has never sent a proposal first or conducted sales.” This is not an exaggeration: Mir does not have a separate sales department. As we continued to build our portfolio by sticking to the basics of creating animation, we soon became a major animation studio reaching out to people all over the world.


Representative Yoo emphasized ‘physical strength.’ One hit is not enough. It is important to have the stamina to continuously produce quality content. Neither Disney nor DreamWorks relies on a single box office hit. We are constantly developing new content and releasing it to the world.


“Knowing how to create content is not just about being able to make a piece successful. I have seen many cases where people pour money into acquiring an IP and then end up stumbling. Physical strength is ‘the power that allows you to create the next work.’ “The same goes for Mir, and the Korean animation industry needs that kind of ‘stamina.’”


According to CEO Yoo Jae-myeong, Korea is just now gaining recognition for its presence in the global animation market. Taking the United States and Japan, which divide the global animation industry, as an example, the United States is highly systemized, while Japan has a strong presence of directors. Korea is somewhere in between. It is flexible. Representative Yoo said, “I think the advantage of the Korean animation industry is that we can incorporate our own colors into the work without insisting on only our own style.” He added, “I don’t think there has to be a distinct color unique to Korea. “The priority is to create fun content that people will like,” he emphasized.


K-pop, K-drama, K-movie. Now, in the global content market, the letter ‘K’ is known as ‘premium.’ Since Korea has already achieved great success with webtoons, animation also has great potential for development. It is still difficult to be on par with other industries, but that also means that there are endless ways to go further.


“I think it is the industry’s job to continue nurturing the seeds of creativity. Rather than relying on support, I think the priority should be to go out and produce results and accumulate data. Mir, too, must continue to move forward without stopping. Mir’s motto is ‘It’s not in place.’ “I don’t know where we will end up, but now that we are listed, we will move forward with tension as the first mover in the industry.”



Source: [Enterbiz] Yoo Jae-myeong, CEO of Studio Mir, “Korean animation, the outlook is bright” :: Naver TV Entertainment (naver.com)

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