Pokémon in South Korea: Difference between revisions

[[File:PocketMonstersGumEun.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cover of Pocket Monsters Geum·Eun]] Eventually, South Korean and Japanese relations had warmed up to the point where the South Korean government's ban on Japanese cultural imports was partially lifted in October 1998<ref>[http://www.jei.org/Restricted/JEIR00/0026w3.html SOUTH KOREA EASES BAN ON JAPANESE CULTURE]</ref>. This in turn finally allowed for the release of some Pokémon titles into South Korea. In particular, the Pokémon anime first appeared on Korean television on July 1999, while the Pokémon manga series, [[Pokémon Adventures]] (포켓몬스터 스페셜 ''Pocket Monsters Special''), would hit bookshelves on August 1999. The first Korean-language main series game, however, would be {{game|Gold and Silver|s}} (포켓몬스터 금·은 ''Pocket Monsters Geum·Eun''), which saw a release in April 2002; its delay may have been due to the difficulty of including the Korean language writing system in it. On the other hand, neither {{game|Crystal}} nor the [[Generation III|third generation]] games would see a localised release in South Korea, potentially for the same difficulties involved in translation. There may have also been uncertainty on how to play those games, as Hyundai would not license a version of either the Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance for release in Korea. Notably, {{game|Ruby and Sapphire|s}} were released in Korea under the title 포켓몬스터 루비·사파이어 (''Pocket Monsters Ruby·Sapphire'') by 대원씨아이 ''Daewon C.I.''. However, while the back cover and a short game manual were translated in Korean, the rest of the game remained in Japanese. Similarly in 2006, {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}} were released as 포켓몬스터 다이아몬드·펄 (''Pocket Monsters Diamond·Pearl''), though the games remained in Japanese<ref>[http://bbs1.ruliweb.daum.net/gaia/do/ruliweb/family/995/read?bbsId=G001&articleId=7738840&itemId=81921 포켓몬과 함께하는 추억여행(4)-혼란기(2004-2006)]</ref>.  

[[File:Platinum KO boxart.png|thumb|right|200px|Cover of Pokémon Giratina Pt version]] Since its official release, Pokémon has enjoyed considerable success in South Korea. Releases in Korea have been able to keep pace with Japan and the rest of the world; Korean-language editions of [[Pokémon Adventures]] volumes are generally released in Korea before English-editions in North America, new TCG sets are released on par with international releases, and the Korean release of [[Pokémon X and Y]] (포켓몬스터 X・Y ''Pocket Monsters X·Y'') was part of the "Worldwide Release", with Korean being a playable option in all regions. Furthermore, 이현정 ''[[Lee HyunJung|Lee Hyun-jung]]'' is a Korean employee of [[Game Freak]] who designed {{p|Tepig}}, {{p|Pignite}} and {{p|Emboar}}, as well as illustrated a number of cards for the Pokémon TCG. Finally in 2014, the [[2014_World_Championships#Masters_Division_2|Video Game Championship, Masters Division]] winner was '''박세준''' ''Park Se-jun'', the first Korean winner of a Pokémon Worlds event.

Due to the South Korean government's ban on Japanese cultural items, none of the [[Generation I|first generation]] games saw an official release in Korea. Once the ban was slightly lifted in 1998, a Korean-language version of {{game|Gold and Silver|s}} (포켓몬스터 금·은 ''Pocket Monsters Geum·Eun'') would be released in 2002. Unlike previous localizations of Pokémon Gold and Silver, these versions are not playable on the original [[Game Boy]] at all, and display an incompatibility message if inserted into an original Game Boy, like {{game|Crystal}}. <ref>[http://mgaver.tistory.com/122 Hangeru Team (Korean Pokémon blog)]</ref> For unknown reasons, Pokémon Crystal was never released in the Korean language, although it may be of note that the Game Boy Color's lifespan overseas was almost finished. Likewise, none of the [[Generation III|third generation]] would see a South Korean release either.

[[File:Pocket Monsters AG New and Best CD cover.png|thumb|200px|right|Cover artwork for the CD [[Pocket Monsters AG (New & Best)]]]]

[[File:Pokémon Adventures KO volume 1.png|thumb|190px|Cover of volume 1 Pokémon Adventures]]

[[Pokémon Adventures]] (포켓몬스터 스페셜 ''Pocket Monsters Special'') has been published in South Korea by 대원씨아이 ''{{wp|Daewon C.I.}}'' since August 1999. Since then, every volume that has been released in Japan has been released in Korean, the most recent being [[Pokémon Adventures volume 51|Volume 51]], which was released on August 25, 2015. No major changes have been made between the original Japanese story and the Korean version; however at least the first 21 volumes are still released in a flipped format (mirrored from the original Japanese for Korean audiences), but have since been released unflipped (like the original Japanese version) by Volume 30.