K-Arts Presents AAEN 2023 to Promote Korea-Japan-China Campus Asia Project

In February on the Seokgwan-dong campus, the K-Arts held the Asian Animation Education Network 2023 (AAEN 2023) seminar and screening in pursuit of expanding the international exchange with Tokyo University of the Arts, Communication University of China, and Silpakorn University (Thailand). It is a program extended from the CAMPUS Asia project carried forward by the Ministry of Education. CAMPUS Asia aims to enhance the mutual understanding and international exchange of university students from Korea, Japan, China, and other ASEAN countries.

In part 1 of the seminar, on “collaboration during the pandemic,” K-Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, and Communication University of China presented the outcome of the international collaboration on animation projects conducted through remote interaction from 2020 to 2022. In part 2, on “Asian animation education,” the faculties of 3 schools from Korea, Japan, and China, the National Institute of Fine Arts (Laos), Silpakorn University (Thailand), and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology (Thailand) shared their regional statuses. Part 3 held a screening session on the present-day of ASEAN animation and the latest production by a German film school. On 23 February, furthermore, there was a showcase of works by students of K-Arts and Tokyo University of the Arts and a special lecture by the animation studio VCRWORKS.

Director Lee Jeongmin of the K-Arts CAMPUS Asia stated, “We formed an animation education network among Korea, Japan, China, and the ASEAN countries and had the kick-off ceremony in 2022. Ever since we have been collaborating online. At last, we met one another. I wish all of us, over 50 members, from Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Laos, and Germany, to get closer to one another by exchanging various opportunities on- and offline.”