The rise of anime is no joke. In fact, just by checking social media, people will naturally get the idea that anime is big in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and United States. Anime can be watched on local TV channels, anime movies are available in cinemas, and there are even events catered to the anime community.
International fans have a lot of options to watch anime as streaming sites are available for them. Sites like Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, and Funimation even offer free trial periods for fans to watch their favorite shows for free. Shows are in English subbed or dubbed versions for everyone.
Meanwhile, Korea is known for its pop cultures like K-drama or K-pop. But is anime big there too? Let's find out!
Is Anime Popular in Korea?
Just like those countries that were mentioned, Korea was also taken by storm by anime. One best example is One Piece. Most of the anime fandom in Korea is a fan of said series. Other popular anime in Korea are Bleach, Dragonball, and Naruto.
The interesting thing is that most anime fans in Korea are teenage boys, hence the popular titles. Korea also released some anime of their own, but it did not get as popular as Japanese anime.
Some shows were banned in Korea like Hetalia and Attack on Titan. It appears that Koreans are very conservative, so it does not accept explicit anime. In the case of Hetalia, it was banned because Koreans find the anime offensive as the show personified various countries as cute guys. Even worse, the story focused on the 2nd world war as the setting that reminded bad memories to Koreans. For Attack on Titan, it was said that Korea banned the anime because of extreme violence. Not only did Korea do this, but also China.
There was also a time when anime art was banned, as the country believed that it was a form of child abuse. It appeared that anime art, especially the ones that are sexually suggestive, is banned as it depicts young girls who were mistreated.
Looking for the best sports anime? We compiled the list just for you!