Copyright Screen Rant
While Japan is deservedly getting its recognition for the enormously influential cultural export that is anime, other countries have continuously vied for prominence as well. China is making waves lately with its donghua, with some cases like To Be Hero X garnering support from fans to cinch anime of the year. By comparison, South Korea's animated efforts are more modest. But Korean anime, or hanguk aeni, is a familiar, yet different experience. It caters to a similarly expansive breadth of demographics as anime does, but its characters often feel less exaggerated, even realistic. Some can feel like they bridge the gap between anime and the enormously popular K-drama world, while others can be decidedly more kid-friendly or mature. As a result, aeni is a fascinating yet underdeveloped sector of animated entertainment. Aeni studios often wind up offering their talents for international collaborations like X-Men '97 or My Adventures with Superman, but their occasional original stories can truly shine. Here are some top Korean anime recommendations for any variety of viewer. Oseam A more relatively early aeni than typical examples, 2003's Oseam is a beautiful story that encapsulates Korean culture and spirituality, alongside deeply-rooted Buddhist themes. Following the young Gilson and his blind older sister, Gami, the story follows the two children orphaned by a fire that took their home and mother. There's a great emotional beauty to the tone and aesthetics of the movie, making a splash in the animated scene across the festival circuit in the year following its debut. Gilson is willing to do anything to restore his sister's sight, and it's a powerful experience to see it play out. The Haunted House Ideally suited for kids but still plenty enjoyable for all ages, The Haunted House follows Ha-ri and her younger brother Doo-ri as they live in a haunted apartment with their parents. In doing so, they befriend Shinbi, the adorable goblin mascot of the series who is deathly afraid of the ghosts terrorizing this home, and they strike a deal. Despite the spooky subject matter, The Haunted House is executed on the sillier side of the spectrum like Goosebumps or Scooby Doo instead of the unintentional kids' nightmare fuel of shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark? Shinbi needs people to live in the apartment so he can feed off their energy, so the kids must drive away the ghosts. This episodic series sees the kids confronting various ghosts and solving their problems to let them rest in peace. These ghosts even leave behind Ghost Orbs, akin to Poke Balls, to summon their help in the future. The King of Pigs One of Yeon Sang-ho's most transgressive films, The King of Pigs was his big debut, and it is not for the faint of heart. Following two former middle school classmates, Kyung-min and Jong-suk, the movie details their horrifically violent youths. With Kyung-min having just lost his business and killed his wife, the story continues to descend into darker territory. In middle school, Kyung-min and Jong-suk were classified as "pigs" beneath the ruling "dogs" of the wealthy, powerful bullies above them. But Kim Chul, a new kid who greets their cruelty with his own, unites Kyung-min and Jong-suk as their "King of Pigs." But as Kyung-min details what happened to Chul, they reckon with the darkness it left behind. A Day Before Us Demonstrating Korean anime's potential to blend the swoonworthy charm of K-dramas with the soft aesthetics of a shoujo series, A Day Before Us is a perfect bite-sized hit for viewers craving the best in animated romance. The series features the heart-healing adventures of Yeo Reum, Ha Eun, Kim Wook, and Yeon Woo. Every episode is wonderfully animated by STUDIO LICO, and features everything from meet-cutes to confessions. Yeon Woo's smooth, romantic delivery of his reason for sitting next to Ha Eun is breathlessly cool, and is a strong example of the series' appeal. A Day Before Us ditches the filler and gets straight to the best parts of any romance anime. The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow Perhaps being unfairly overlooked at first, The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow is an admittedly absurd movie. Yet, its charm lies in its whimsy as it follows a satellite that picks up the song of a forlorn musician, Kyung-cheon. The satellite descends to Earth but is turned into a girl, while Kyung-cheon is respectively turned into a cow. The movie doesn't even end with that absurdity, featuring a toilet paper wizard, a liver-snatcher, and a walking incinerator. It's weird, but also sort of wonderful, a tale of two lonely beings who find each other through music. Its filmic charm is aided by an indie presentation that resembles a Ghibli film that never quite left the pitch meeting. Seoul Station A prequel to Yeon Sang-ho's iconic Train to Busan, Seoul Station is a damning look at how society rejects its most vulnerable, marginalized groups, and how that can lead to its downfall. Following the troubled Hye-sun who is trying to move on from her life as a prostitute, the story depicts her life and others like her to be disposable. Yet, as the zombie outbreak begins slowly, with the homeless witnessing the first infections, their concerns are dismissed as nuisances. Hye-sun, struggling to afford rent, balks at letting her abusive boyfriend pimp her out, and is sought out by her apparent father, as the outbreak happens all around them. It's far from a happy ending, yet also grimly satisfying. True Beauty Despite already having a wonderful K-drama from 2020, True Beauty's aeni injects Yaongyi's beloved manhwa with anime conventions to bring an otaku energy to the familiar tale. It's a beautifully animated tribute to the power of self-expression, and how makeup isn't a mere tool to conceal oneself, but in fact can be a catalyst for reinvention. The Korean series is available to stream on Crunchyroll and has more on the way. It follows Lim Ju-kyung's struggles being bullied for her appearance, while taking matters into her own hands after binging makeup tutorial videos. Still keeping her former self, Ju-kyung's coming-of-age is a story of self-esteem, love, and discovering her real potential. The Fake Yet another Yeon Sang-ho film, The Fake is an example of his status as a beloved aeni creator. Not one to settle for a blandly entertaining animated romp, Yeon's commentary here carves into greed, manipulation, and corruption. As the movie's village is about to be flooded for a new dam, its denizens are manipulated by a man of the cloth. Sporting the usual darker, realistic character designs and animated mannerisms of Yeon's other work, The Fake follows Kim Min-chul, a notorious figure in his home village who attempts to expose the manipulative scheme of Choi Gyeong-seok, posing as a church elder who plans to fleece the villagers of their relocation compensation. Lookism Perhaps the most webtoon-accurate of any popular aeni, Lookism takes a hard look at the phenomenon of its namesake, as the protagonist Park Hyung-seok explores the implications of pretty privilege. As a bullied high schooler forced to transfer, Hyung-seok soon attains a second, taller, muscular body for the daytime. Lookism is an interesting example of Korean anime, with its supernatural premise grounded by magical realism, obeying its rules strictly. Hyung-seok seeks self-improvement, but sees the drastic differences and simplicity of his life when seen as conventionally attractive. It's also an example of Studio Mir's output beyond its more mainstream projects like Netflix's Devil May Cry. Lost in Starlight Released in 2025 on Netflix, Lost in Starlight is perhaps the best marriage of Korean aeni filmmaking with the gorgeous anime films of Makoto Shinkai's era. The movie follows beloved K-drama stars Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung as astronaut Joo Nan-young and Jay respectively, with the latter bringing the former's walls tumbling down as they fall deeply in love. Nan-young has spent her life aspiring to go to Mars in her mother's ill-fated footsteps. Her commitment to this dream led her to push others away. But entirely by coincidence, she discovered the soulful music of Jay, and her best attempts to keep him at arm's length fall short. The result is a beautifully tender animated love story. Lost in Starlight also has perhaps one of the best pairings of a bespoke soundtrack and rewarding romantic tension in aeni or anime for quite some time. It's a deeply emotional movie with a wonderful ending, connecting viewers quickly with Nan-young's story. The loss of her mother left her with a painful emotional scar, her father in an obsessive state, and an understandable hesitation to commit. But in this near-future science fiction romance, blending everything good about romance anime, music, and K-dramas, love wins in the end.
