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SEK Studio

SEK Studio, originally established as the April 26 Children's Animation Film Studio on September 7, 1957, in Pyongyang, North Korea, is a state-owned animation enterprise specializing in traditional, stop-motion, and computer-generated animation for both domestic propaganda and educational content as well as international subcontracting.^[1]^[2] The studio, which employs over 1,500 personnel, has produced notable domestic works such as the long-running series Squirrel and Hedgehog, featuring anthropomorphic animals in allegorical tales promoting North Korean ideology, alongside adaptations of Korean folktales and shorts aimed at ideological indoctrination.^[3]^[2] Internationally, SEK Studio has provided animation services to European and other foreign producers since the 1980s, often through front companies to circumvent sanctions, generating revenue for the North Korean government while contributing to projects like Italian cartoons and outsourced segments for Western media.^[4]^[5] In 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned SEK Studio for its role in sanctions evasion and enabling serious human rights abuses through forced labor practices within its operations.^[5]^[6] Recent investigations have revealed instances of unauthorized subcontracting, including sketches from U.S. studios found on North Korean servers linked to SEK, highlighting ongoing covert collaborations despite international restrictions.^[7]^[8]

History

Founding and Early Development (1957–1970s)

SEK Studio was established on September 7, 1957, as the April 26 Children's Animation Film Studio by the North Korean government, building upon the Puppet Animation Film Research Institute affiliated with the Joseon National Film Studio.^[9] The initiative stemmed from efforts dating to the mid-1950s, when North Korean artists were sent to East Germany for training in animation techniques, laying groundwork for domestic production capabilities.^[4] This founding reflected the regime's emphasis on film as a tool for ideological indoctrination, particularly targeting youth through educational content aligned with state principles.^[1] In its initial phase through the late 1950s and 1960s, the studio prioritized puppet animation and early traditional methods, generating short films and series for internal consumption that promoted moral lessons, self-reliance, and narratives of collective struggle.^[1]^[10] Productions during this era, such as the 1959 film Our Hill (우리동산), marked the studio's debut in feature-length children's animation, focusing on simple storytelling infused with patriotic themes.^[11] By the 1970s, under continued state direction—including influence from Kim Jong Il's oversight of cultural outputs—the facility grew its technical infrastructure, incorporating more refined cel animation processes while maintaining output centered on domestic propaganda and youth education, though exact production volumes remain undocumented in accessible records.^[1]^[10]

Expansion and Name Changes (1980s–1990s)

During the 1980s, the April 26 Children's Animation Film Studio—North Korea's primary animation facility—expanded through international subcontracting to earn foreign currency amid economic pressures.^[1] This shift involved partnerships with European studios from Italy, France, and Spain, enabling the acquisition of advanced animation methods while producing components for overseas projects.^[1] Influenced by Kim Jong-il's emphasis on film from the mid-1970s, annual output grew to over 20 animated films, reflecting heightened domestic capacity alongside export-oriented work.^[12] Notable early collaborations included animation services for the 1988 French science fiction film Gandahar, marking one of the studio's initial high-profile foreign engagements.^[12] The studio also dispatched young animators to France and Italy for training, bolstering technical expertise and facilitating further growth in outsourced production during the decade.^[1] In the 1990s, this expansion continued with additional international contracts, such as contributions to the Italian-dubbed version of Disney's Pocahontas in 1997.^[12] That same year, the studio underwent a rebranding to SEK Studio—derived from "Scientific Educational Korea"—to better position itself for participation in global animation festivals and enhance its appeal to foreign clients.^[1] This name change signified a pivot toward commercial viability, distinguishing its export operations from purely domestic propaganda efforts while retaining state oversight.^[1]

Growth in International Outsourcing (2000s–Present)

In the early 2000s, SEK Studio expanded its international operations by leveraging North Korea's low labor costs and a workforce trained in traditional cel animation techniques, securing subcontracting deals primarily from Chinese, South Korean, and European firms seeking to reduce production expenses. By 2003, the studio employed over 1,500 animators and handled work for more than 70 foreign companies across Asia and Europe, contributing to its peak output of up to 60 animated films and series annually, including both domestic propaganda pieces and outsourced segments.^[1]^[13] This growth was facilitated by SEK's state-backed ability to engage directly in foreign trade, with representatives stationed overseas to negotiate contracts, distinguishing it from most North Korean enterprises restricted by isolationist policies.^[14] A notable example of early cross-border collaboration occurred during the brief "Sunshine Policy" era of inter-Korean détente, when SEK contributed animation sequences to the 2003 South Korean film Wonderful Days (also known as Sky Blue), marking one of the few overt joint projects before political tensions escalated.^[15] However, following the 2006 North Korean nuclear test and subsequent UN sanctions, direct foreign engagements diminished, with visible contracts shifting predominantly to Chinese clients, such as a 2009 animated series adaptation, as Western partners withdrew amid growing scrutiny.^[1] By 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department formally designated SEK as a sanctioned North Korean state-owned entity, citing its role in generating foreign currency for the regime, yet the studio persisted through layered subcontracting chains involving intermediaries in China and elsewhere.^[16] Despite intensified U.S. sanctions in 2021 and 2022 targeting SEK and its evasion networks—such as payments funneled through Chinese firms like Funsaga Trading—evidence from leaked North Korean servers indicates ongoing indirect participation in high-profile Western projects as late as the early 2020s.^[17] For instance, animators at SEK or affiliated studios reportedly contributed to episodes of U.S. series like Avatar: The Last Airbender (Season 3, Episode 1), as well as content for Warner Bros., Amazon, and HBO Max, often without the commissioning studios' knowledge due to opaque outsourcing practices driven by demands for "unreasonably low-cost labor."^[7]^[18] Similarly, Japanese anime productions have been implicated in subcontracting to North Korean labor via third parties, sustaining SEK's revenue amid restrictions.^[19] This clandestine expansion underscores a pattern of sanctions circumvention, where foreign media companies' cost-cutting incentives inadvertently channel funds to the DPRK regime, though direct attribution remains challenging without full supply-chain transparency.^[20]

Organizational Structure and Operations

State Ownership and Workforce

SEK Studio, formally known as Scientific Educational Korea Studio, is a state-owned enterprise fully controlled by the Government of North Korea.^[21] The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated it as such in 2016, subjecting it to sanctions under North Korea-related regulations due to its ties to the regime.^[16] As a government entity, it operates under direct state oversight, with no evidence of private ownership or independent management structures.^[22] The studio's workforce has historically comprised over 1,500 employees, primarily animators and support staff based in Pyongyang.^[4] Reports from the early 2000s indicate a staff size of approximately 1,600, including an artistic core dedicated to animation production.^[23] By 2014, however, the workforce had reportedly contracted to around 900 personnel, reflecting potential shifts in operational scale amid international sanctions and domestic priorities.^[1] Employees are typically assigned through state mechanisms, with labor directed toward both domestic propaganda content and outsourced foreign projects, though specific recruitment processes remain opaque due to North Korea's centralized economy.^[13]

Technical Capabilities and Production Methods

SEK Studio specializes in both traditional and digital animation techniques, encompassing hand-drawn frame-by-frame processes, key animation, in-betweening, inking, painting, and computer-generated imagery (CGI).^[13] The studio produces high-quality 2D and 3D animations that meet international standards, as demonstrated in collaborations on feature films and television series such as The Simpsons Movie (2007) and episodes of Invincible (Season 3).^[1] ^[24] Digital production relies on vector software like Toon Boom for efficient workflow and 3DS Max for 2D/3D modeling, operated on Windows and Mac systems equipped with modern scanners for digitizing hand-drawn elements.^[13] ^[1] These tools enable the studio to handle complex tasks, including character design refinements based on foreign client feedback, such as adjusting head shapes or editing animation cells and video clips.^[24] In typical workflows, SEK manages core production phases—layout, key frames, in-betweens, and coloring—while outsourcing clients often complete final compositing and post-production abroad.^[13] The studio's capacity supports high-volume output, historically producing up to 60 films annually at its peak and completing full 26-episode television series, leveraging a workforce of specialized animators trained domestically and occasionally abroad.^[1] ^[25] Due to restricted internet access, international file transfers occur via physical hard drives transported on Air Koryo flights to Beijing or through covert digital methods like misconfigured cloud servers and VPNs, allowing daily updates despite sanctions.^[13] ^[20] This setup facilitates subcontracting for over 70 foreign entities, primarily in Europe, but introduces dependencies on intermediaries for communication and payments.^[13]

Economic Role in North Korea

SEK Studio, as a state-owned entity under the April 25 Film Studio, plays a pivotal role in North Korea's efforts to generate foreign currency through outsourced animation services, leveraging low labor costs and skilled animators to attract international contracts often routed via intermediaries.^[21] This activity circumvents international sanctions by providing hard currency inflows that bolster the regime's limited export economy, where animation ranks among niche sectors like IT freelancing for evading restrictions.^[7] In 2021, for instance, the Italian firm Mondo TV remitted approximately $537,939 to SEK for animation work, highlighting direct revenue streams despite U.S. prohibitions.^[21] The studio's operations employ hundreds of animators, with historical collaborations involving up to 500 workers out of a total staff exceeding 1,500, fostering skilled labor utilization in a country where such expertise is scarce and state-directed.^[4] These earnings contribute to Pyongyang's foreign exchange reserves, which fund imports and regime priorities amid broader economic isolation, as animation outsourcing has been identified as a deliberate revenue source parallel to cyber operations.^[16] Exact annual figures remain opaque due to North Korea's closed system, but SEK's involvement in subcontracting for Western productions—such as uncredited work on U.S. and Japanese projects—underscores its function in sustaining economic activity through global supply chains.^[7]^[4] Critically, this economic model relies on sanctions evasion tactics, including front companies and unwitting foreign partners, which U.S. authorities have penalized to disrupt flows; yet, SEK's persistence reflects animation's viability as a low-profile export compared to prohibited sectors like arms or minerals.^[21] While not a dominant GDP contributor—North Korea's economy totals around $40 billion annually, per estimates—SEK exemplifies state orchestration of creative industries for survival, prioritizing currency generation over domestic market saturation.^[16]

Productions

Domestic Animation

SEK Studio, established in 1957 as the April 26 Children's Animation Film Studio, has produced numerous animations for the North Korean domestic market, focusing on children's programming, fable adaptations, and ideological narratives. These works emphasize themes of self-reliance, patriotism, and resistance to external threats, often through anthropomorphic characters or historical settings. Early productions included shorts like adaptations of Korean folktales, such as The Golden Ax and the Silver Ax in the 1960s, which promoted moral lessons aligned with socialist values.^[26]^[1] A flagship series is Squirrel and Hedgehog (다람이와 고슴도치), airing from 1977 to 2012, featuring anthropomorphic forest animals in adventures that allegorically portray North Korea as a harmonious community defending against predatory invaders representing imperial powers. The series, comprising multiple seasons, was broadcast on state television and remains popular across generations for its blend of adventure and subtle indoctrination.^[27]^[28]^[1] Another prominent example is Boy General (소년장수), initiated in 1982 and extending to at least 100 episodes by 2020, which depicts a young warrior named Soe-me battling foreign invaders during the ancient Goguryeo kingdom. This historical fantasy underscores heroism, national defense, and loyalty, with episodes ordered in batches, including 50 in 2015 under Kim Jong-un's directive.^[29]^[30]^[1]^[31] Additional domestic output includes Clever Raccoon Dog (1987), an anthropomorphic tale promoting hard work and Juche self-reliance philosophy. At its production peak in the early 2000s, SEK Studio generated up to 60 films annually for internal use, employing around 1,600 staff dedicated to traditional and stop-motion techniques. These animations are distributed via Korean Central Television and educational channels, serving as tools for youth ideological formation amid the country's isolation.^[1]

International Animation Services

SEK Studio, North Korea's primary state-owned animation facility, expanded into international outsourcing around 1985, initially targeting European broadcasters for subcontracted work such as in-betweening, coloring, and background art. This shift leveraged the studio's low labor costs—reportedly drawing on a workforce paid fractions of global rates—to attract foreign clients seeking cost efficiencies in animation pipelines. By the early 2000s, SEK had established itself as a covert provider, contributing to over 1,200 international films and television projects, though direct contracts were often routed through intermediaries in China or Southeast Asia to obscure origins and comply with sanctions.^[3]^[1]^[16] Early notable collaborations included animation services for the Italian series Pocahontas (1997), where SEK handled production elements, and various 1990s European co-productions like Dragon Flyz and Papa Beaver's Storytime. In the 2000s, the studio's scope broadened to Hollywood-adjacent projects, such as contributions to The Simpsons Movie (2007) and Jurassic Cubs (2007), often embedded in multi-tiered subcontracting chains that distanced end-clients from North Korean involvement. These services generated foreign currency for the regime, with SEK reportedly exporting animation worth $3.5 million in 2021 alone, underscoring its economic role despite international restrictions.^[10]^[7]^[32] Investigations in 2024 revealed SEK's deeper penetration into Western markets, with files on North Korean servers containing sketches and assets linked to high-profile series including HBO Max's Velma, Amazon's Invincible, Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 3 premiere), and Japanese anime like Pokémon. These findings, derived from seized server data, indicate that U.S. and Japanese studios outsourced work unwittingly through Asian subcontractors, which then funneled tasks to SEK for execution at Pyongyang facilities. The studio's technical capabilities, including traditional cel animation and early adoption of digital tools, enabled it to meet international standards while operating under isolation, though quality varied and ethical concerns over labor conditions persist. Foreign firms' reliance on opaque supply chains has perpetuated this arrangement, bypassing U.S. sanctions imposed since 2017 that explicitly target SEK's revenue streams.^[16]^[7]^[20]

Controversies and International Relations

Sanctions and Evasion of Restrictions

SEK Studio, a state-owned entity under North Korea's April 25 Film Studio, was designated for sanctions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on December 10, 2021, due to its role in perpetrating serious human rights abuses and evading restrictions imposed on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).^[5] The designation prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with SEK and blocks its property under U.S. jurisdiction, aligning with broader UN Security Council resolutions targeting DPRK's weapons programs, including UNSCR 2397, which restricts the export of goods and services to generate foreign currency.^[21] Prior to heightened enforcement, SEK had provided animation services to Western clients, such as contributions to The Simpsons Movie (2007) and episodes of Futurama, but such direct collaborations ceased after 2016 amid tightening sanctions.^[33] To circumvent these restrictions, SEK has employed front companies, primarily in China and Russia, to mask its involvement in international projects and launder payments.^[5] For instance, OFAC noted SEK's use of an "assortment of front companies" to deceive international partners and facilitate prohibited transactions, enabling revenue generation estimated to support DPRK's prohibited activities.^[24] In a notable case, Italian firm Mondo TV S.p.A. outsourced animation work to SEK for projects including Robot Trains (2019 agreement), transferring approximately $537,939 through U.S. financial institutions between May 2020 and October 2021, resulting in a $538,000 civil penalty settlement with OFAC on June 26, 2024, for 37 apparent violations of DPRK sanctions.^[21] ^[6] SEK routed work through intermediaries like Chinese entities, which violated both U.S. and UN sanctions by aiding DPRK's foreign currency inflows.^[33] Further evasion tactics include subcontracting to unaware foreign studios, as evidenced by U.S. investigators discovering sketches from American animation projects on a North Korean server in 2024, linked to SEK's operations.^[7] This implicated unwitting contributions to upcoming series for platforms like Amazon and HBO Max, highlighting SEK's exploitation of global outsourcing chains to bypass export controls on services.^[24] A 2025 joint report by Japan and allied nations identified SEK's tactics as part of DPRK's broader sanctions circumvention strategy, including IT worker deployments and cryptocurrency use, though animation-specific revenue remains a niche but persistent channel for prohibited funding.^[34] These methods underscore the challenges in enforcing service-based sanctions, as SEK leverages its technical workforce—reportedly over 1,000 animators—to maintain covert economic ties despite international isolation.^[35]

Ethical and Human Rights Criticisms

Critics contend that outsourcing animation services to SEK Studio enables foreign companies to exploit low-cost labor while channeling revenue to the North Korean regime, which sustains systemic human rights abuses including forced labor, extrajudicial executions, and operation of political prison camps detaining an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 individuals under brutal conditions. SEK, as a government-owned entity, contributes hard currency to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) economy, estimated to generate millions annually through such subcontracts, thereby bolstering a state apparatus accused by the United Nations of "crimes against humanity."^[20] The pursuit of "unreasonably low-cost labor" in these arrangements raises additional concerns about worker exploitation, as North Korean state-assigned employees in animation studios receive nominal wages—often equivalent to a few dollars monthly after state deductions—amid controlled work environments with limited personal freedoms or recourse against abuses.^[7] Reports indicate that SEK's operations, involving up to 1,500 artists as of the early 2000s, align with broader DPRK practices of mobilizing labor for regime priorities, potentially including conscripted or incentivized assignments that prioritize state revenue over individual welfare.^[3] Such dynamics have prompted accusations of complicity, with analysts noting that foreign media firms' subcontracting indirectly finances DPRK activities evading sanctions imposed partly for human rights violations and weapons proliferation.^[5] Further ethical scrutiny arises from documented sanctions evasion tactics employed by SEK, including the use of front companies to obscure transactions, as highlighted in U.S. Treasury designations that blocked SEK's assets in 2021 and targeted supporting networks in 2022.^[36] An Italian animation firm, Mondo TV, agreed to a $538,000 penalty in June 2024 for remitting payments to SEK via the U.S. financial system, illustrating how such dealings undermine international efforts to isolate the DPRK regime economically in response to its human rights record.^[6] Proponents of these criticisms, including sanctions experts, argue that even unwitting outsourcing—revealed through exposed DPRK servers containing Western studio assets—prioritizes cost savings over due diligence, potentially exposing companies to legal risks while perpetuating the regime's opacity and opacity-enabled abuses.^[24]

Impact on Foreign Productions

SEK Studio has subcontracted animation work for various international productions, enabling cost reductions through access to low-wage labor in North Korea, where animators earn far below global averages. At its peak in the early 2000s, the studio employed over 1,600 staff and handled up to 60 films annually, with nine of its 11 production teams dedicated exclusively to foreign subcontracting.^[1]^[37] This outsourcing often occurs via intermediary firms in China or elsewhere, allowing North Korean contributions to Western and Asian projects without direct knowledge of end clients such as U.S. studios.^[38] Notable examples include contributions to the U.S. animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (Season 3, Episode 1, "The Awakening"), as well as earlier works like Dragon Flyz (1996, French-American), Princess Sheherazade (1996), and Papa Beaver's Storytime (1993). More recent involvement encompasses episodes for streaming services including Amazon and HBO Max, alongside Japanese anime and Italian cartoons, as evidenced by production files and sketches recovered from a misconfigured North Korean server in 2024.^[39]^[16]^[7] These services have facilitated the completion of labor-intensive traditional animation tasks, such as in-betweening and coloring, at fractions of market rates, thereby supporting the scalability of foreign productions amid rising global costs.^[3] The practice has generated revenue for the North Korean regime, estimated to bolster state funds despite U.S. and UN sanctions imposed on SEK Studio since at least 2022, which prohibit such transactions. Foreign entities, including studios like Titmouse Inc. in the U.S., have faced reputational and legal risks upon discovery, prompting calls for enhanced supply chain oversight to avoid unwitting sanctions evasion.^[19]^[8] While delivering competent output rooted in North Korea's legacy of cel animation expertise, SEK's role underscores vulnerabilities in global outsourcing, where pursuit of "unreasonably low-cost labor" has inadvertently financed a sanctioned entity amid documented human rights concerns in its workforce.^[7]^[3]

Cultural and Propaganda Role

Indoctrination Through Animation

SEK Studio, North Korea's primary state-run animation facility established in 1957 as the April 26 Children’s Animation Film Studio, specializes in children's programming that integrates Juche ideology—emphasizing self-reliance, national sovereignty, and loyalty to the Kim regime—through allegorical narratives designed for early ideological conditioning.^[1] These domestic productions, distinct from SEK's international subcontracting, serve as tools for state propaganda, portraying heroic North Korean archetypes resisting foreign aggressors to instill anti-imperialist sentiments from a young age.^[33] Under guidelines from Kim Jong Il's 1973 treatise On the Art of the Cinema, which adapts Juche principles to film production, SEK's animations prioritize regime glorification over artistic innovation, ensuring content aligns with official narratives of eternal vigilance against external threats.^[33] The flagship series Squirrel and Hedgehog, produced by SEK since the 1970s and comprising dozens of episodes, exemplifies this approach by anthropomorphizing forest animals to depict Koreans as industrious squirrels and hedgehogs defending their homeland against predatory wolves symbolizing American imperialists, weasels for Japanese colonizers, and other foes like invasive mice for South Koreans.^[40]^[33] Episodes such as "Wicked Enemies" and "A Scary Plot" feature militarized protagonists employing cunning and weaponry to thwart invasions, blending cute aesthetics with graphic combat to normalize violence against perceived enemies while exalting self-reliant resistance.^[33] Broadcast daily on state television, the series targets preschool and school-aged children, leveraging repetitive viewing to embed messages of regime superiority and hatred toward the United States, often aired alongside military parades or leader praise segments.^[40]^[41] Beyond Squirrel and Hedgehog, SEK has created other indoctrinating works like the 1987 film Clever Raccoon Dog, which teaches perseverance and collective labor as Juche virtues through animal fables, and The Boy General, a 2015 series of 50 episodes romanticizing ancient Korean warriors to foster nationalistic pride tied to modern leadership.^[1] These animations exploit children's affinity for animated formats to bypass overt didacticism, embedding causal narratives where individual initiative under state guidance triumphs over capitalist or foreign disruption, thereby cultivating lifelong adherence to Pyongyang's worldview amid limited media alternatives.^[41] Despite technical constraints from isolation, SEK's output maintains a focus on ideological purity, with state oversight ensuring no deviation that could undermine the regime's monopoly on truth formation.^[1]

Artistic Achievements Amid Isolation

Despite international sanctions and limited access to global technological advancements and artistic exchanges, SEK Studio has sustained a high-volume output of animation, peaking at up to 60 films annually in the early 2000s through domestic ingenuity and internal training programs.^[1] Employing around 1,600 animators equipped with relatively advanced tools for the time, the studio achieved technical proficiency in both traditional hand-drawn and early computer-assisted techniques, enabling detailed cel animation that supported complex character movements and backgrounds in resource-constrained environments.^[42] This scale underscores an organizational achievement in talent development, drawing from North Korea's centralized education system to produce generations of skilled draftsmen capable of meticulous inbetweening and coloring without reliance on imported software or hardware.^[10] Domestically, SEK's original productions, such as adaptations of Korean folktales and series like Squirrel and Hedgehog, demonstrate artistic adaptation of Soviet-influenced styles blended with local motifs, featuring fluid anthropomorphic character designs and narrative pacing that prioritize moral storytelling over experimental forms.^[2] These works, produced entirely in-house amid material shortages, exhibit a commitment to aesthetic consistency, with hand-painted cels yielding vibrant palettes and dynamic action sequences that reflect disciplined craftsmanship rather than avant-garde innovation. The studio's ability to maintain such quality—evident in the longevity of series spanning decades—highlights causal resilience, as animators iteratively refined techniques through state-directed practice rather than market feedback.^[43] In outsourcing for foreign clients since the 1980s, SEK animators replicated diverse international aesthetics, contributing inking and painting to projects like Italian dubs of Disney's The Lion King and Pocahontas, as well as episodes of Western series, which required precise adherence to provided keyframes without creative oversight.^[44] This technical fidelity, achieved via covert workflows to evade sanctions, represents an artistic feat of stylistic versatility, allowing North Korean artists to emulate capitalist animation pipelines—such as Cartoon Network's stylized exaggeration in The Powerpuff Girls—despite ideological prohibitions on consuming such media. Reports of their involvement in over 1,200 credited international titles affirm this capability, though often unacknowledged due to geopolitical sensitivities.^[3] Such accomplishments stem from empirical skill accumulation, prioritizing volume and accuracy over narrative autonomy, yet yielding outputs competitive with global subcontractors.^[16]

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Italian animation studio to pay $538K fine for outsourcing ... - NK News
Jun 27, 2024 · An Italian animation company has agreed to pay a fine of over half a million dollars for violating sanctions by outsourcing work to a North Korean studio.<|control11|><|separator|>
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Treasury Sanctions Over 40 Individuals and Entities Across Nine ...
Dec 9, 2022 · “Corrupt actors and human rights abusers both rely on deficiencies in the international financial system to perpetrate their activities,” said ...
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SEK Studio | Squirrel and Hedgehog Wiki - Fandom
The studio started operations in September 1957, as April 26 Children's Film Studio. Around 1985, it began to outsource animation for European television.
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What We Learned Inside a North Korean Internet Server: How Well ...
Apr 22, 2024 · ... Studio, also known as SEK Studio. The Pyongyang-based organization is North Korea's premier animation house, producing series for domestic ...Missing: history | Show results with:history<|separator|>
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(Not so) fun fact, the animation work for S3E1 "The Awakening" was ...
Apr 23, 2024 · The animation work for S3E1 "The Awakening" was outsourced to North Korean animation studio SEK Studio, likely to cut costs.TIL that the 2007 film "The Simpsons movie" was outsourced to ...Did you know that Walt Disney classics such as The Lion King and ...More results from www.reddit.com
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North Korea's Anti-American Propaganda Indoctrinates Kids With ...
Sep 28, 2017 · Produced by state-run SEK Studios, the series has been running since the 1970s and is something children in North Korea watch daily, according ...
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Propaganda starts early: North Korea's cruel and crude cartoons
Jul 25, 2016 · Hence, “A Squirrel and a Hedgehog” and other North Korean films and cartoon will probably outlive the regime, though not for long. Indeed ...Missing: animation | Show results with:animation
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Growing Animation Industry in North Korea
Dec 7, 2006 · SEK studio reportedly employs 1,600 animators working with state-of-the-art equipment. Its work includes the $6.5 million-budgeted feature, ...Missing: accomplishments | Show results with:accomplishments<|control11|><|separator|>
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North Korea Quietly Emerges as Major Player in Animation Industry
Dec 6, 2006 · “North Korea employs animation to deliver various messages to the public, and North Korean animators have been sub-contracted by Japanese and ...
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Animated Movies in N. Korea - KBS WORLD Radio
Aug 24, 2022 · SEK Studio participated in the production of overseas animations such as the Italian version of the The Lion King and Pocahontas as early as in ...Missing: 1970s | Show results with:1970s