FUTURE OF KOREAN ANIMATION LOOKS BRIGHT AS IT ENTERS US MARKET

Seoul, Korea (June 2007) - The country¡¯s break-out animation hit ¡°Eon Kid¡± (formerly entitled ¡°Iron Kid¡±), a unique robot martial arts action series, has successfully made its debute on the global animation scene, having already been broadcast in Korea and Spain and now set for broadcast on Kids WB in the U.S. this fall.

Originally developed by Designstorm, ¡°Eon Kid¡± is co-produced by Daewon Media, Spain¡¯s BRB International, and Manga Entertainment in the U.S.. The series was selected as the Korea Culture and Content Agency¡¯s (KOCCA) Star Project in 2004, the biggest government subsidized fund in Korea.

Korea¡¯s animation industry is the third largest behind the US and Japan, however most of its revenue has been generated from OEM (original equipment manufacturer), as opposed to original content.

Korea has long been known as an outsourcing haven for American, European and Japanese animation companies in need of cheap, skilled animators.
However, Korea¡¯s image as strictly an outsourcing destination is changing. With help from governmental agencies like KOCCA, the animation industry in Korea has experienced an overhaul and the demand for original Korean animations is on the rise.

Another Korean animation, ¡°Dibo the Gift Dragon,¡± from OCON Inc. has generated global buzz with its Emmy-nominated writers, US storyboard artists, and ex-Sony and Warner executives as its producers. The series about a motley crew of homemade puppets living in a village called Cozy Land has already debuted on the front cover of the magazine - ¡°KidScreen Magazine¡±- and received the Special Mention Jury prize at the Cartoons On The Bay Festival. The animation also won KOCCA¡¯s Star Project in 2005. The 52-episode series is in production, with the first batch of 26 episodes ready for delivery. The remaining 26 episodes will be available at the end of this year.

Designstorm has also revealed two new animation projects, ¡°Roy Vs Roy Jr.¡± and ¡°Kung Fu Island,¡° to follow the success of ¡°Eon Kid.¡± ¡°Kung Fu Island¡± has already been honored with the Excellent Pilot Project Award in 2006 by KOCCA.

¡°Eon Kid¡¯s¡± upcoming launch into the US market also bodes well for Designstorm¡¯s toy and licensing businesses,¡± said.

CEO of Designstorm and executive producer of ¡°Eon Kid¡± Jungsook Sohn, ¡°As far as producing any forms of content is concerned, Korea has the ability to create and produce. It is important to have a global mind, and to aim towards the world market when forming partnerships.¡±

OCON Inc. has signed with partners all over the world including Benelux, Nordic, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Singapore, and Taiwan. These partners plan to air and begin licensing from the second half of 2007. ¡°Dibo¡± currently has over 30 local licensees and over 100 different products already on the store shelves in Korea. For more information on the series, please check out ¡°Dibo¡¯s¡± official website www.diboclub.com.
Any business proposals from channels, licensees, and agents on ¡°Dibo¡±
are currently being accepted.