S. Korea's Pororo penguin takes flight worldwide

SEOUL — South Korean animator Choi Jong-Il knew he had a hit on his hands when Pororo the penguin hopped onto TV screens back in 2003.Choi's previous creations had failed to grab the undivided attention of his six-year-old son and his son's friends.That all changed when the mischievous but affectionate blue and white penguin, sporting aviator glasses and a flying helmet, made his debut."The kids' eyes were glued to the TV...they never touched other toys as long as Pororo was on," Choi told AFP in an interview.Pororo, whose dream is to fly, has taken off big-time since then. In South Korea he has been dubbed the "children's president" and his image appears on everything from cellphones to chopsticks.Iconix, which Choi started in 2001 with six employees, has grown into one of the nation's biggest animation studios with two subsidiaries and 160 workers.Pororo has been sold to 110 countries and helped Iconix garner 27 billion won ($25 million) in sales last year.Sales will grow to 38 billion won by the end of this year thanks to rising popularity overseas, particularly in China and Southeast Asia, Choi said.Korean animators have talent and experience. In South Korea, they helped bring the Simpsons to life along with SpongeBob and other characters.And a studio in hardline communist North Korea, working as a subcontractor, helped flesh out Pororo."They did a pretty good job... North Korea actually does a lot of animation subcontracting jobs, especially European countries like Italy," Choi said.But the collaboration fizzled out due to difficulties in phone calls and other communications across the divided peninsula.In South Korea, a lack of investment has made it harder for animators to progress beyond being subcontractors, said Stella Suh, director of the animation industry team at the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency."South Korea has top-class world capability in animation production, but creating independent animation films is all about funding," she said."The government has offered some financial aid

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