Robot Taekwon V

According to the first robot registration card issued by the ministry of commerce, industry, and energy to Robot Taekwon V in 2006, its height is 56 meters, its weight is 1400 tons, and its power is 8.95 million KW. Its speed is 20-30 km/h when walking, 300 km/h when running, and 1.2 mach when flying.[3]

The science-fiction animation depicts the ordinary life of the South Korean people in the 1970s in many scenes. The patriarchal characteristics shown include the need for children to be disciplined into the docile, useful body, the roles of sons and daughters, and the punishment given to abnormal deviation.[10] Coexistence of the value of Western science and the traditional system in Korea at the time of the creation of the film is shown through the moments like the dinner scene where Dr. Kim celebrates Hoon’s victory shows Western-style food, cakes and a round table, representing American or Western culinary culture, which is distant from that of ordinary Koreans, who usually share their side dishes.[11]

The director Kim was known to be a fervent anti-communist due to his father being abducted by North Korean troops during the Korean War,[12] which would have likely affected the emphasis of anti-communism in the film as well as the national political context. At the time of the film's creation, nationalism and anti-communism against North Korea was highly emphasized by the Park Chung-hee South Korean government’s cultural policy. In the film, the nationalistic promotion is expressed through the design of Taekwon V's helmet, which took reference from the former Korean general Admiral Yi Sunsin, who was highly admired by President Park. The integral component of the animation, Taekwondo, was also promoted by President Park as the national martial arts that represents the power of the new independent Korea.[13] Antagonist characters in the film represent communists with the evident title of The Red Empire. Since the main audience of the film, South Korean children, were exposed to the negative connotations of red as a symbol of communism in literature and educational materials, Dr. Kaff the villain was easily associated with communism that must be defeated.[13]

A critic took Robot Taekwon V as one of the strongest examples that shows the reason for the decadence in the South Korean animation industry in the late 20th century. They claim that it is not the lack of resources or talent but rather the limited nationalistic mindset of South Korean animators that may have restricted their creative potential.[16] On the other hand, there is also a voice arguing that animated films are inevitably related to the realities of the society in which they are produced and received, and the expression political ideologies emphasized in the society is not only natural but inevitable to an extent.[17] One interesting interpretation analyzes Mary, a humanoid who longed to be a human and went through identity crisis, as an existential, feminist icon with anxieties about her own humanity and role in the modern world.[17]

Robot Taekwon V has been considered plagiarism of the Japanese giant-robot manga and anime Mazinger Z. Mazinger Z was popular in South Korea at the time of Robot Taekwon V's creation, and Kim Cheong-gi discusses the plagiarism of Mazinger Z on his animated film, saying he wanted to create a Korean hero for Korean children. In order to emphasize the Korean ties of the film, he had leading characters perform the traditional martial art, taekwondo, and gave the robot the ability to do taekwondo kicks.[18] The sequel, Super Taekwon V, took designs from Gundam and Xabungle. The possible reason for the plagiarism issues in South Korean animated films around the time is because many Korean animation studios were subcontracted to work for Japanese animation industry due to the higher labor costs in Japan.[19]

Decades after the film's initial release, the first court debate case surrounding the issue of copyright of Robot Taekwon V took place. Robot Taekwon V Corp sued a toy importer for violation of copyright and the toy company countered insisting there is no copyright for Robot Taekwon V as it was already plagiarized. The verdict by Seoul Central Court in July 2018 saw Robot Taekwon V as a secondary creation rather than a copy and acknowledged the distinct differences between Robot Taekwon V and the Japanese animation, ordering the toy importer to pay 40 million won.[20]

In 2006, Shincine Communication Co. created a company under the name of "Robot Taekwon V." The company manages the character’s future media appearances, including TV, music video, computer games, ads and films.[23]

In 2008, Robot Taekwon V was selected as the nation's goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the first time as a character in an animated film. The representative of the Seoul bureau of the UNHCR explained that “Taekwon V is a character that protects the weak and gives hope and courage to people.”[24]

On October 15, 2015, V Center, Robot Taekwon V Museum by Experience, opened on the Museum of Moving Image land in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. With a narrative program composed of ten sections, the museum offers opportunity to experience the inside of Robot Taekwon V base.[25]

The original print of Robot Taekwon V has long been thought lost, and the only available print was incomplete and in very poor condition. However, as a duplicate print was found in a warehouse of the Korean Film Council in 2003, the restoration began. During the two years of process, about 5,000 people were put in yearly. The restored version of Robot Taekwon V was screened at The 10th Busan International Film Festival on October 9 and 11, 2005.[26] The restoration was widely released in early 2007 and set a new record for domestic animated films, attracting over 600,000 viewers in 18 days.[27]