Daewon Media Acquires Rights to Create Gon TV Series

SEOUL, June 13: Korean
animation outfit Daewon Media has entered into an agreement with Japanese book
publisher Kodansha to develop an animated TV series based on the comic Gon, featuring a small dinosaur with unusual power and
speed.

Gon was first released in Kodansha’s weekly cartoon
book and spawned its own comic-book series in 1992. Gon features detailed drawings of various animal
characters. However, the story is told entirely through artwork, without
dialogue and human characters appearing in the book.

Daewon Media will release the
Gon animated TV series in early
2010.

This is the first time that
Kodansha has partnered with a company outside of Japan for the creation of an animated
series. According to Daewon Media, broadcasters in the U.S. and Europe are
already expressing interest in the Gon animated TV series. The deal was sealed at Licensing Show this week.

—By Irene Lew