Pokémon in South Korea: Difference between revisions

→‎History: Cleaned up some of the additions to make the article flow a bit better
(→‎History: Cleaned up some of the additions to make the article flow a bit better)
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Due to the rocky history between {{wp|Japan–Korea relations|Japan and (South) Korea}}, Japanese cultural imports—such as manga, anime, video games, music and movies—were banned by the South Korean government after Korean Independence at the end of {{wp|World War II}}. This ban would be in effect throughout most of the 80s and 90s, particularly when video game consoles began to grow in popularity in Japan and the West. Many Korean companies would find ways around the ban, such as licensing ''American'' versions of Japanese consoles; Hyundai, for example, licensed the American {{wp|Nintendo Entertainment System}} (instead of the Japanese Famicom) and released it as the 현대 컴보이 ''Hyundai Comboy''. For other things, however, there was no way around the ban, and Pokémon was of no exception; almost all Pokémon-related media of its time would never officially make its way into South Korea. This included all of the [[Generation I|first generation]] games; if anything Pokémon-related appeared in Korea, it was either a bootleg, a rip-off or an illegal version.
Due to the rocky history between {{wp|Japan–Korea relations|Japan and (South) Korea}}, Japanese cultural imports—such as manga, anime, video games, music and movies—were banned by the South Korean government after Korean Independence at the end of {{wp|World War II}}. This ban would be in effect throughout most of the 80s and 90s, particularly when video game consoles began to grow in popularity in Japan and the West. Many Korean companies would find ways around the ban, such as licensing ''American'' versions of Japanese consoles; Hyundai, for example, licensed the American {{wp|Nintendo Entertainment System}} (instead of the Japanese Famicom) and released it as the 현대 컴보이 ''Hyundai Comboy''. For other things, however, there was no way around the ban, and Pokémon was of no exception; almost all Pokémon-related media of its time would never officially make its way into South Korea. This included all of the [[Generation I|first generation]] games; if anything Pokémon-related appeared in Korea, it was either a bootleg, a rip-off or an illegal version.


[[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: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 by 대원씨아이 ''Daewon C.I.''; 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 localized 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. That said, Daewon C.I. would import the Japanese version of {{game|Ruby and Sapphire|s}} in South Korea under the title 포켓몬스터 루비·사파이어 ''Pocket Monsters Ruby·Sapphire''; while the back cover and a short game manual were translated in Korean, the rest of the game 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>.


Finally in January 2004, the South Korean government completely lifted its ban on Japanese cultural imports<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2003/dec/28/world/fg-japanculture28 South Korea Makes Way for Anime]</ref>. This allowed Nintendo to officially operate in South Korea as 한국닌텐도(주) ''Nintendo of Korea, Inc.'' starting on July 2006<ref>[http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/03/nintendo-of-korea-opens-july-7th/ Nintendo of Korea opens July 7th]</ref>, with 포켓몬코리아 ''Pokémon Korea, Inc.'' beginning its operations a month later<ref>[http://www.pokemon.co.jp/corporate/en/history/ The Pokémon Company History]</ref>. The [[Nintendo DS Lite]] would end up being the first console officially released by the new Nintendo of Korea in January 2007, and {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}} (포켓몬스터 DP 디아루가·펄기아 ''Pocket Monsters DP Dialga·Palkia'') would be released in February 2008. However, it would not be until the release of {{game|Black and White|s}} (포켓몬스터 블랙·화이트 ''Pocket Monsters Black·White'') in 2010 that Korean games would be completely compatible with other region carts (as [[Generation IV]] games from other regions lack Korean characters).
In January 2004, the South Korean government completely lifted its ban on Japanese cultural imports<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2003/dec/28/world/fg-japanculture28 South Korea Makes Way for Anime]</ref>, allowing Nintendo to officially operate in South Korea as 한국닌텐도(주) ''Nintendo of Korea, Inc.'' starting on July 2006<ref>[http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/03/nintendo-of-korea-opens-july-7th/ Nintendo of Korea opens July 7th]</ref>. 포켓몬코리아 ''Pokémon Korea, Inc.'' would begin its operations a month later<ref>[http://www.pokemon.co.jp/corporate/en/history/ The Pokémon Company History]</ref>. This news didn't prevent Daewon C.I. from importing {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}} as 포켓몬스터 다이아몬드·펄 (''Pocket Monsters Diamond·Pearl'') in 2006, just as they did with {{game|Ruby and Sapphire|s}} (that is, in Japanese with Korean covers)<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>. Daewon C.I.'s release was followed by the January 2007 release of the [[Nintendo DS Lite]], which was the first Korean-language console officially released by the new Nintendo of Korea. Then in February 2008, {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}} (포켓몬스터 DP 디아루가·펄기아 ''Pocket Monsters DP Dialga·Palkia'') was released, being the first first-party Korean-language game released. However, it would not be until the release of {{game|Black and White|s}} (포켓몬스터 블랙·화이트 ''Pocket Monsters Black·White'') in 2010 that Korean games would be completely compatible with other region carts (as [[Generation IV]] games from other regions lack Korean characters).


[[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.
[[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.
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