China and Korea have announced that they will be working together to further the art of cartooning. According to this morning’s Cynopsis newsletter, “Each year 15,000 minutes of animation is produced in city of Changsha, in China’s Hunan Province, yielding an annual profit of close to US $158 million, according to the report.” With that kind of cash involved, I can see why the two countries’ industries might want to work together and see if they can expand their market a bit.

At the ongoing 4th Changsha Cartoon Art Festival (CCAF) in this capital of central China’s Hunan Province, an agreement was signedon Sunday to make the CCAF and Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF), the largest animation festival in the ROK, “sister festivals.”

The animation industry in the ROK has witnessed remarkable changes in recent years, especially in the field of digital technology, and has provided invaluable experience for the Chineseanimation industry, said Wang Feng, secretary-general of China Television Artists Association.

The exchanges and cooperation between China and the ROK will help promote the creation, development and management in the industry for both countries and bring mutual benefits, he said.

Animation