A scene from Korean animation film “Green Days” brings back nostalgic memories of Korea in the 1970s. The movie about young innocent love at a Chuncheon high school is no longer shown at your neighborhood movie theaters, but still playing at the animation-only cinema called Seoul Ani-Cinema inside Seoul Animation Center. Here’s Ms. Lim Ju-hye with Seoul Animation Center to explain more.

Seoul Ani-Cinema is Korea’s first theater made exclusively for animation films. It plays animations all year round. Most of the features are Korean films, but occasionally foreign works are shown as well. Sometimes Seoul Animation Center hosts film festivals for short films rarely seen in Korea.

At Seoul Animation Center visitors can see quality animation films all year round. In addition to films, the center has an extensive collection of books and materials on cartoons and animations and runs several interactive programs. Seoul Animation Center is not only a dream destination for cartoon and animation lovers, but also a fun place to visit for anyone who still has a little child inside.

Located at the foot of Mt. Nam, Seoul Animation Center is near Exit 1 of Myeongdong Station of subway line four. A short walk up the incline on the right hand side from the exit would bring you to the center. Befitting the nature of this building, a 3.5-meter statue of Taekwon V, Korea’s most famous robot hero, and characters from the nostalgic comic book and animation film, Baby Dinosaur Dooly, stand near the entrance to welcome the visitors. Ms. Lim Ju-hye informs that it was back in 1999 when the center first opened its door here.

Seoul Animation Center was established by the city of Seoul to provide all-around support to the cartoon and animation industry. Today the municipal government’s support extends to the game and character businesses. It’s open to the general public and provides a wide array of cultural experiences. Visitors can take part in free interactive programs in the Character Room or Interactive Exhibitions Hall, or read comic books and watch videos in House of Cartoons, or make your own animation films and cartoon characters in Character Experience Rooms. You can have a full day of fun at Seoul Animation Center.

Seoul Animation Center is divided into Exhibition Halls where cartoons, animation films, and other cultural contents are displayed, two Character Experience Rooms, a 4-D simulator, Ani-Cinema, and House of Cartoons, where visitors can enjoy comic books and cartoon shows at the library and the Anitoon Zone. Now let’s start the tour of Seoul Animation Center.

This is Character Experience Room 1, where visitors learn about the technological aspects of making animation films. Visitors see how IT technology is used to create characters and animation films, and even become a goalkeeper to block a ball or meet up with virtual characters on the computer screen for a photo shoot.

Mischievous Chinese girl Pucca in a red car welcomes visitors at the entrance. To her right is a space where visitors can experience the Chroma key technology. A person stands in front of the blue screen and that image is composited with another image for a special effect. An LCD monitor shows the chroma-keyed image.

This is called the chroma-key motion capture. The image of me standing in front of the blue screen is composited with a video of a ball coming toward me. I pretend to be a goalie to block the ball. It’s like playing a game against the computer.

Next to it is a space called “I’m an Editor, too,” where visitors can color animation characters. A variety of characters are shown on the screen and visitors can use the 32-inch touch screen to select colors and paint the characters.

- I’m coloring Pororo characters with my children. They choose the colors they want by touching the color palettes on the screen. My children love changing colors. It’s my first time here, but it was really educational because my children had fun and many interesting experiences.

The 3D Interactive Corner is across from the touch painting area. There visitors can take pictures and have fun with Korean animation characters like Pororo, Kkambu, and Chiro.

- It’s really amazing here and my children love it. They like taking pictures with their favorite characters.

Other activities in Character Experience Rooms also include a maze game with your favorite character. Across from the Character Experience Rooms is a place where visitors can use clay to create their own characters and even produce a short animation video. This is a perfect place for a young child who dreams of being a cartoonist one day.

- This area is where children can play with clay to make their own characters. There are even samples of characters so children can follow the instructions to create figurines. We’re making Pororo right now, and it’s easier than I thought because the instructions are very detailed and easy to follow. The characters we made will be turned into a video and mailed to us. It’s really fun.

After learning about the basic principles of animation film production, visitors move to Ani-Cinema to watch animation films. Ani-Cinema and two exhibition halls are located across from Character Experience Rooms, and on the marquee these days is “Green Days” directed by Han Hye-jin and Ahn Jae-hoon.

“Green Days” is an acclaimed animation film that made it to the final rounds of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France and won Special Prize at the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival. Right next to Ani-Cinema is the exhibition halls where visitors can see the filmmaking process of “Green Days.” Looking at the behind-the-scenes work after watching the film gives visitors a new understanding and appreciation of all the hard work that goes into completing an animation film.

- I really loved “Green Days.” The story reminded me of my dreams and it was so moving. The movie left long impressions on me. And looking at the displays at the exhibition hall made the whole experience more vivid and made me realize what a great process it is. It was nice for me to see all the steps that go into making a film, like collaborating with many people and drawing countless sketches before completing one actual frame.

There is even a space where visitors can leave notes. Some notes say how much they enjoyed the experience and some about their own childhood loves. Whatever the notes say, their emotions resonate long after the visitors have gone home.

Next to the exhibitions on “Green Days” are displays on Japanese anime director Makoto Shinkai, the acclaimed creator of “5 Centimeters Per Second” and “Voices of a Distant Star.” His latest release “Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below” is also prominently showcased. Here’s Ms. Lim Ju-hye again.

The director is really famous and his works are known for their quality and sensitivity. Fans have been waiting for his latest film. There are many commonalities between “Green Days” and “Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below” in that they both explore the dreams from our childhood. We have provided a special filmmaking video and director’s comments as well as important materials from the film.

Makoto Shinkai’s new film “Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below” was released last May in Japan and its Korean release is scheduled for late August. Watching the filmmaking process heightens Korean animation lovers’ anticipation for the film.

Now let’s visit the House of Cartoons located outside the main building. The first floor of the House of Cartoons is a library, where more than 40,000 pieces of materials on Korean comic books, overseas cartoons, game characters, and other cultural contents are kept. Here’s Ms. Lim Ju-hye again to explain more about the library.

The library has various materials on Korean cartoons, animations, and games characters, as well as foreign animations and comic books. It’s a great place for animation industry workers to hone their craft. In addition to likable characters, a good animation film must have a solid plot and realistic costumes and background structures. The library offers a wide range of reference materials for those elements.

The Anitoon Zone on the second floor provides some 7,000 video materials, including cartoon clips, videos and DVDs from Korea and abroad. Visitors must show their IDs to rent out a DVD or a video and watch it at the comfortable viewing rooms, where visitors can sit or lie down to watch their favorite videos. No wonder it’s the most popular section of the House of Cartoons.

- I came to see the animation film “Yobi, the Five-tailed Fox.” The seats are so comfortable that I can almost lie down. It’s just like watching TV at home. And it’s so well air-conditioned here. I can choose whatever film I want and watch it in comfort. There are also lots of comic books and a wide selection of foreign cartoons as well.

Visitors spend three or four hours just watching animation films to their content at Ani-Cinema and also at the House of Cartoons. A whole day passes by in a flash if they tour around the Character Experience Rooms and Exhibit Hall. Visitors are quick to agree that it’s a day well spent. But Ms. Lim Ju-hye says that they cannot go home until they stop by a great spot for photos.

This is a place very unique to Seoul Animation Center. It’s the cartoon character restrooms. Since the center sees a number of foreign tourists and cartoon lovers, we made the restrooms unique. The stalls are painted with background scenes and characters from a popular Korean TV cartoon show, “Janggeum’s Dream,” spun off from the huge drama hit “Jewel in the Palace.” The restrooms make an amusing backdrop for your photos. In women’s restrooms the mirrors feature touch-screen LCDs to show different backgrounds, such as a castle or a rose garden.

Seoul Animation Center is a place worth visiting for not only those hoping to become cartoonists, but anyone who enjoys good entertainment.