CULTURAL INSIGHT

[Anchor Lead]

Tada Korea pops every single curiosity you might have on Korean culture or entertainment. Today we bring you the news of Korean animated films such as "underdog" and "running man" receiving substantial recognition internationally. We have the details.

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[Soundbite] "People have abandoned us and yet why do we have to eat leftovers discarded by humans?"

Korean animated films are garnering greater recognition on the global stage. The film "Underdog," a story about abandoned pets released early this year, has been invited to the competition section of the 43rd Annecy International Animated Film Festival opening in France this June. The event is one of the top four animated film galas in the world, dubbed the "Cannes festival of the animated world." This year, over 3,000 films have been submitted and "Underdog" is one of the eight that made it into the feature films "contrechamp" competitive section. Korean animated film "Running Man" advanced to the finals in the New York Film Festival slated to open in September. It's the first time a Korean film has reached that stage of this festival. Support by fans for the two movies continue to pour in, as evidenced by congratulatory posts online. The Korean-Japanese project girl band IZ*ONE will hold their first solo concert since debut on June 8th and 9th at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul. IZ*ONE is a female band of 12 members who were chosen through audience voting in a TV audition program that aired last year. Their management agency said that as the group was formed in a special way through fans' love and selection, it promised to make the upcoming concert a memory-filled event with fans. IZ*ONE's debut album released in Japan in February sold 190-thousand copies on the first day alone, a record for a K-pop girl group. They dropped their second mini album in recent days which topped rankings in seven Korean music shows, testifying to IZ*ONE's popularity in both Korea and Japan.