Korea and Japan's legendary robot characters Robot Taekwon V and Mazinger Z made a simultaneous comeback in Seoul. Robot Taekwon V appears in a digital revamp of the 30-year-old original movie, while Mazinger Z looms as a 3.2 m tall scale model.
The Seoul Business Agency (SBA) shows the "Robot Taekwon V" digital version five times a day at the Seoul Ani Cinema in Yejang-dong, Seoul, until Aug. 27. The animated film first opened in 1976 and attracted what was then a massive audience of 180,000 viewers in Seoul alone, establishing itself as a household name in Korean animated film. Before then, the Japanese animated character Mazinger Z was so popular here as to be treated as an honorary Korean. The digital version of "Robot Taekwon V" uses graphic programming technology to restore damaged parts and comes with a newly dubbed soundtrack. Tickets cost W6,500 (US$1=W961) for adults, W4,000 for students and W3,000 for groups. An exhibition of a wide range of collectibles related to the character including school supplies and toys from the 70s will be shown until Aug. 26. Admission is free.
Meanwhile, the Children's Grand Park in Neung-dong, Seoul is holding a Robot Exhibition 2006 -- an Exciting Journey into the World of Robots, until the end of October. Some 80 scale models of robots between 2 and 4 m tall include the 3.20 m Mazinger Z, as well as The Classic Atom and Gundam characters. In a special section, visitors can operate humanoid robots such HUBO and Asimo themselves. Other robots from the movies include Terminator, RoboCop and dinosaur robots.
In the outdoor part of the event, visitors can operate remote-control cars, assemble racehorse robots and paint pictures of robots. Tickets cost W8,000 for adults, W7,000 for teenagers, W6,000 for children and W5,000 for those in groups of more than 20.
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