It's summer vacation time at school and like it or not, children want to tag along with you wherever you go out for fun. Korea.net recommends some fun events that the whole family, but most importantly your children, can enjoy.

Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival


The 2010 Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF)

The 2010 Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF), the biggest animation festival in Korea, will take place at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, from Jul. 21 to 25. With the participation of 190 animation companies at 532 booths, this year's festival is expected to be the biggest ever.

The annual festival now in its 14th year will be largely divided into four sections: an Animated Film Festival, a SICAF Exhibition, an International Digital Cartoon Competition and a Seoul Promotion Plan 2010 (SPP).

Of the many SICAF exhibitions there is an exhibition of Korea's leading cartoonist Hur Young-man, whose works were also made into TV dramas, movies and animation like "Le Grande Chef", The War Of Flower and "Superboard". His works will be shown in the form of posters, original animation cells and video clips. The "Smurf Exhibition" is a chance to meet the jolly blue friends of childhood.

Monsters will compete in a "Korean and Japanese Goblin Exhibition". Come marvel at the images of traditional monsters from Korean and Japanese legends, as well as comics. Anime lovers will get a kick out of Japanese monsters from "GeGeGe no Kitaro". Then there's "Black Italian Fumetti", showing the charm of Italian noir comics.

In the film festival there are five feature films including "In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today?" and 46 short films such as "12 Days" and "An Abstract Day". As for TV series, there is "Jungle Emperor Leo: The Brave Change the Future" based on Japanese cartoon legend Osamu Tezuka's popular animation series of the 1960s.

Over 300 films will be screened, with 140 of them in the competition section. They were chosen among 1,332 entrants from 57 nations. The opening film is "Fuss Farm" by Korean director Kim Woon-ki. The closer will be the winner of the official competition. At the Screening talk audiences will also get to meet with world-class animation directors like Igor Prassel and Alexander Petrov.

The International Digital Cartoon Competition is comprised of master exhibitions of overseas digital cartoons, masterpieces of Korea Digital Cartoon Exhibitions, 4-D Experience Space and invited works of overseas competition winners. The main marketing event for cartoon, animation and characters SPP 2010 will take place at the COEX conference center over three days from Jul. 21 to 23.

The Seoul Character & Licesning Fair which is linked with SPP 2010, will be on the 1st floor of COEX. Charles Riotto, chairman of the Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Association (LIMA) with over 1,000 members, will make a speech on the latest trends in the character industry. If you bought a SICAF ticket, you can enter this fair, too.

Local animation companies will be present with their highly successful characters like "Pororo the little Penguin" (Iconix Entertainment), "Cocomong" (Olive Studio), "Dibo the Gift Dragon" (Ocon), "Mystery Island Kambu" (Character Korea), "Animal Cars Vroomies" (Sam-G Animation) and more.

Entrance fee: 7,000 won (general public)/ 5,000 won (middle & high school students)/ 2,000 won (elementary school students & younger).
SICAF Film: 4,000 5,000 won (Reservations available through CGV website)
SICAF2010 : Open the link
The Seoul Character & Licensing Fair: Open the link
COEX (for location): Open the link
*Entry is free on 21st and 22nd.


Live experience at BEXCO

Check out the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center. BEXCO, as the place is better known, is filled with displays for little children.

The exhibition "Science of Space 2010" (Jul. 2 - Aug. 29) in Hall 3B will recreate all the excitement of going to outer space through special equipment and displays. In the space display room visitors can see astronauts' topiary grown in space and then they move into a life-like space tunnel that gives a full view of the history of space and planets. You can touch a giant model of Mars and meteorites on display and learn about the history of some previous space expeditions. The Rocket Garden section will take you to pilot control rooms of the space shuttle and many types of spaceships, as well as a mock International Space Station. For hands-on experience, children can indulge in over 50 kinds of space-related fun like operating a robot arm, jumping into a mock black hole filled with special effects, getting into moon walker-mode and going through low gravity training.
Website: Open the link (Korean language)

The exhibition "Exploring Dinosaurs of the Korean Peninsula" (Jul.9 - 22) in BEXCO's Hall 2B, will show the various kinds of dinosaurs that roamed around the Korean Peninsula some 80 million years ago. All the animals have been brought back to life (well, almost) through thorough research. Take a step into a prehistoric cave via dinosaur galleries, dinosaur playgrounds and 3D videos.
Website: Open the link (Korean Language)

The "Cocomong Green Playground" (Jul. 16 - Aug. 29) in BEXCO's Hall 3A, has revived the environment-friendly play park of Koreans' popular animation, "Cocomong". Play equipment will encourage children to move around using their hands and feet. Games like sorting out artificial garbage and watching videos on the environment will ensure the experience is not just fun but also educational.
Website: Open the link (Korean language)

The exhibition "Bug's Play" (Jul. 18 ֖ Aug. 22) will present 150 types of over 4,000 insects from around the world. They are arranged according to various themes and surrounded by LED-lit flowers. See how they are born and change as they grow. Find out which kinds benefit humans.
Open the link (Korean language)

BEXCO Website (Transportation): Open the link


Trick or treat

You will deeply regret it if you forget to bring a camera for this one! It's the Trick Art Exhibition (Jun. 30 Aug. 20) held in KINTEX, in Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province). Discover the wonderful world of optical illusions created by photographic artwork and a special paint job. Some 120 works are parodies of well-known paintings of great artists like van Gogh, Millet and Monet. Another 40 or more works are media art and installations that present optical illusions. You can have a full 3-D experience in the screening room that will show Tears of the Amazon. The entrance fee is 12,000 won per person, regardless of age.

Trick Art Website: Open the link (Korean language)
Ilsan Kintex Website (Transportation): Open the link