The 6 Anime Set In Korea To Explore The Country

Korea is recently emerging as a good setting in anime, due to the influence of Manhwa.

All of the productions we are going to recommend, except for The God Highschool, are Korean through and through. And even the one just mentioned, is made by Japanese animators but adapted from a Korean Manhwa.

These excellent anime present some key differences from “traditional” Japanese anime. This is visible from the faces and physical characteristics of the characters and the use of lights and colors.

But this article talks about the best anime set in Korea and not about Manhwa per se.

This listicle is based on our experience and we will update it as soon as we get new information.

6. Seoul Station

A Korean-made movie, released in 2016 and featuring one of the most popular themes in Korea: zombies.

A homeless man in Seoul Station suddenly starts going crazy, eventually turning into a zombie. Within a short period, the entire city is overrun by the epidemic forcing the survivors to flee and fight relentlessly to survive.

This CGI movie is a good pick if you love the genre and want to try something different.

5. The King of Pigs

The King of Pigs was released in 2011 and is a psychological show featuring some action moments and fights.

In a fit of madness, Kyung-min kills his wife.

As if nothing had happened, for no apparent reason, after the act he decides to invite his former friend whom he hasn’t seen for 15 years out for dinner.

From here a chain of events will begin to unfold.

The setting of The King of Pigs is unspecified but inspired by Korea, in which we see very realistic and truthful locations, without the addition of fantasy elements. But we specify that it’s entirely in CGI, not the best for some people.

4. Green Days Dinosaur and I

Scholastic and sentimental movie with psychological traits, dating back to 2011.

The main character is Yi-Rang, a young competitive athlete. One day, she has a sudden collapse during a race, leading her to finish the race in second place, giving up athletics as a result of this disappointment.

But soon after, the protagonist meets Soo-min and Cheol-soo, a peer who invents contraptions to fly and dreams of becoming an astronaut. The two will greatly help Yi-Rang overcome her trauma.

And what better setting for a Korean opera than Seoul, South Korea’s iconic capital? Again it should be pointed out, that it features typical Korean-sourced film animations and designs.

3. The Fake

A Korean movie marked by many mysteries and detective stories that will keep you on your toes from beginning to end.

Due to the construction of a dam, the inhabitants of a village of people in the Korean countryside have to be relocated elsewhere. A pastor has pledged to find a new situation for the displaced people, but in reality, the same is a dangerous con man.

The only one in the village who knows about the pastor’s dangerous past is a violent drunkard, who tries to reveal the truth but no one believes him….

Lots of suspense, with moments that will keep you in suspense. The bucolic Korean setting then, isolated from civilization, will make it even tenser.

2. My Beautiful Girl, Mary

The story features two boys who, in their wanderings during their summer vacation, come across some marbles found on top of an old lighthouse.

They are thus transported to a beautiful world of magic and wonder, where they meet Mary.

Lots of colors, fantasy, and magical settings in this 2002 Korean movie with very distinctive and recognizable animations and designs.

My Beautiful Girl, Mari is set in a fantasy world, but the two boys play in the peculiar settings of Korean beaches before going there.

1. The God of High School

The God of High School is a Korean manhwa that focuses on martial arts, old-style tournament themed.

A mysterious organization creates a tournament in which the world’s most skilled fighters participate, with the winner getting whatever they desire as a prize.

Only the best of the best can participate, with their preferred fighting style.

The God of Highschool although in the part so far animated shows very few scenes with outdoor settings. The main scenarios are arenas or battle rings and we know that it takes place in Seoul.

We get this information from the high school that Jin, the main character, attends and the street signs written in Korean.