By Honorary Reporter Foteini Chatzoudi from Greece
Photos = Joung Yumi

"Circle," an animated short directed by Joung Yumi, received an invitation to the international short film festival Berlinale Shorts of Germany held from Feb. 15-25. This was her fourth work screened at the event following "Math Test," "Love Games" and "House of Existence."

Joung's short "Love Games" won the 2014 Grand Prix at Animafest Zagreb of Croatia and in the same year, her picture book "Dust Kid" received the Bologna Ragazzi Award of Italy in the New Horizon category. In 2015, her picture book "My Little Doll’s House" won the Fiction category of the Bologna awards. 

The director and author creates stories with an intricate pencil drawing technique, with her unique approach of storytelling and technique catching my attention.  

The following are excerpts from an email interview with her from Feb. 29 to March 27.  

Scene from Joung Yumi's animated short "Circle"

What inspired you to pursue a career in animation?

The animation that interested me was not commercial but experimental. To try my hand at such work, I majored in painting at an art university and studied animation direction at Korean Academy of Film Arts, after which I continued working in animation. 

Why do you use the black and white aesthetic in your works?
I have two reasons: efficiency and feeling. For efficiency, animation requires drawing a lot of pictures. I chose to create a more efficient and simple form of animation in black and white because I was more interested in refining and directing the story.

I feel that the effect of black and white gives a surreal rather than a realistic feeling, even with detailed and intricate portrayals. I found it fascinating that paradoxically, a detailed depiction could result in a more surreal feeling. 

Why do you think your works have invited multiple times to the Berlinale Shorts?
I guess it's because the stories I create have a universality that allows viewers outside of Korea to understand the meaning of my stories just as much as Koreans can. 

Joung's short "Pado" conveys the idea that life's recurring cycles eventually reach a conclusion.

What messages do you wish to convey through your shorts "Circle" and "Pado?"

My animated works are allegorical reflections on life inspired by my own experiences and emotions. While not based on specific incidents, they convey the essential feelings and meanings from my personal journey, making them akin to real-life stories.

I've grown interested in themes related to a sense of freedom. "Pado" is about how things in life recur in cycles but eventually end. "Circle" shows people breaking free from the constraints of a framework. Both works depict a departure from a framework and people moving on to somewhere else. I wanted to convey how we feel when leaving a framework and undergoing change. 

In what direction do you think animation is heading?

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.