Forum Settings
Forums

Why are there no Korean characters in Japanese anime?

New
Nov 7, 2017 2:06 AM
#1

Offline
May 2010
8126
This just occurred me that there are no Korean main characters in Japanese anime despite there are a lot of Chinese characters (even main) in Japanese anime. Is there a reason for this?


EDIT: Looks like a lot of people are putting words in my mouth and drawing their own conclusions. This is a question, not a complaint.
ddw1aNov 7, 2017 4:07 AM
Pages (2) [1] 2 »
Nov 7, 2017 2:10 AM
#2

Offline
Apr 2016
18852
There are no Main Characters from my country either and i'm not making thread about it.
Nov 7, 2017 2:11 AM
#3

Offline
Oct 2010
21957
It's MAL bait threads all over again
Nov 7, 2017 2:13 AM
#4
Offline
Aug 2014
117
Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the dawn is a Korean fantasy. It's actually really good.
Nov 7, 2017 2:17 AM
#5
Offline
Jul 2017
252
I was almost tempted to start a political/historical debate. Long story short, Koreans and Japanese people don't exactly have good views of each other.

Anyway, you usually expect anime to be mostly Japanese so I don't mind a lack of diversity for nationalities in anime... most of the time. Some anime stereotype gags about Americans get in my nerves sometimes. I ain't even American!
Nov 7, 2017 2:28 AM
#6

Offline
Nov 2014
4054
Cause Japanese and Koreans don't exactly like each other. Recently it's probably better, but I think it definitely contributes.
If your favourite character is Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko, you are my soul mate.

Been a long time since I've been here, I'll continue expressing myself freely and believe everyone should too.
My MAL Interview
Nov 7, 2017 2:46 AM
#7

Offline
May 2010
8126
BurningSpirit said:
Cause Japanese and Koreans don't exactly like each other. Recently it's probably better, but I think it definitely contributes.


Japanese and Chinese people don't like each other either, but that didn't stop them from making characters of out of their country.

Swagernator said:
There are no Main Characters from my country either and i'm not making thread about it.


Except Korea is a neighboring country, so not irrelevant.
Nov 7, 2017 2:57 AM
#8

Offline
Oct 2016
305
But what would it add to anime if there are Korean characters? Just enjoy the anime lmao.
Nov 7, 2017 3:01 AM
#9

Offline
Nov 2014
4054
Confucius said:
Japanese and Chinese people don't like each other either, but that didn't stop them from making characters of out of their country.
From what I know, the Chinese resent the Japanese, but the opposite isn't as intense.
If your favourite character is Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko, you are my soul mate.

Been a long time since I've been here, I'll continue expressing myself freely and believe everyone should too.
My MAL Interview
Nov 7, 2017 3:10 AM
Offline
Jul 2018
561867
It's an complex issues with a complex answer.
Nov 7, 2017 3:12 AM
Offline
Jul 2018
561867
there's also a lack of african americans and transgenders in anime. we have to do something about it!
Nov 7, 2017 3:13 AM

Offline
Feb 2013
17583
i swear kyon is totally 100$ korean!
Nov 7, 2017 3:14 AM
lagom
Offline
Jan 2009
107441
i see no big deal on this considering other asians like indians, arabs, south east asians are not presented enough in anime too
Nov 7, 2017 3:19 AM

Offline
Apr 2012
4896
It is a good question, especially since there are Koreans living in Japan, the zainichi.

I guess since it's a sensible topic, producers adopt their usual ostridge/zero risk policy and avoid the topic altogether.
Nov 7, 2017 3:21 AM

Offline
Oct 2015
17301
so akatsuki no yona isnt a thing now? ok
It's good that Slop leveling won the CR awards with such a power gap, Gaijin Weebs don't deserve good anime.
Not after what they did to frieren, kusuriya, and many others
Nov 7, 2017 3:21 AM

Offline
Sep 2014
2794
I'm:

19% East African
22% Italian
9% French
13% Scottish
1% American
21% Russian
4% Mexican
12% Indian
1% Indian American
and
2% low fat milk
3% Sargento Cheese

You don't see me complain that I don't have my own anime.
.
Nov 7, 2017 3:22 AM

Offline
Nov 2013
2523
Confucius said:
This just occurred me that there are no Korean main characters in Japanese anime despite there are a lot of Chinese characters (even main) in Japanese anime. Is there a reason for this?


Certainly because the authors didn't find anything interesting to write about Korean people and their culture.
“Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.”
― Saint Augustine
Nov 7, 2017 3:24 AM
Offline
Sep 2017
88
I personally haven't come across any Chinese characters in anime yet. Most of the time their either Japanese or a foreigner which usually equates to them being american.

Im not personally bothered if or not we have Koreans in anime.
Nov 7, 2017 3:31 AM

Offline
Jul 2015
88
There's Munsu (and all the cast) from the movie Shin Angyo Onshi. The movie is set in ancient Korea... or what's left of it in that world. The original source is a manhwa, btw.

There's Seung-gil Lee in Yuri!!! on Ice too, but he's just a supporting character.
Nov 7, 2017 3:35 AM
Offline
Apr 2016
232
Koreans and Japanese are kinda racist to each other, in fact in WWII the japanese tried to exterminate or enslave them, and the chinese and... pretty much everyone who was not japanese in the fcking pacific.
Nov 7, 2017 3:39 AM

Offline
Nov 2017
104
Political correctness is like a virus that spreads everything. We don't need to include every race in the world to enjoy a show. Entertainment is not about politics.

Is like west film industry, putting blacks everywhere, no matters the source material or historical context. The Dark Tower film protagonist is black when Stephen King clearly specifies on the book that he looks like Clint Eastwood. Blacks on 15th century European courts, a black knight of the Round Table!, blacks replacing white superheroes... the list is endless. Don't rewrite history please. It's better to keep Orwell's 1984 as a fiction novel.
Nov 7, 2017 3:39 AM

Offline
Jun 2015
6888
Confucius said:
BurningSpirit said:
Cause Japanese and Koreans don't exactly like each other. Recently it's probably better, but I think it definitely contributes.


Japanese and Chinese people don't like each other either, but that didn't stop them from making characters of out of their country.

Swagernator said:
There are no Main Characters from my country either and i'm not making thread about it.


Except Korea is a neighboring country, so not irrelevant.

Taiwan is also a neighboring country. Why aren't you complaining about that too?
Nov 7, 2017 3:45 AM

Offline
Apr 2012
3578
China is far larger than Korea. So it's unsurprising.
Nov 7, 2017 3:46 AM

Offline
Nov 2017
104
Jans6ever said:
Koreans and Japanese are kinda racist to each other, in fact in WWII the japanese tried to exterminate or enslave them, and the chinese and... pretty much everyone who was not japanese in the fcking pacific.

The story written by the victors together with prejudice of the modern moral and values is... not history. Yeah, Empire of Japan did bad things before and during WWII, but be objective, who didn't do them back then?
Nov 7, 2017 3:50 AM
Offline
Apr 2017
202
Does it even matter. Japanese anime makes japanese main characters. If you're japanese why would you want to make someone who speaks a different language and is from a different country a main character. It's too much work tbh
Nov 7, 2017 3:52 AM
Offline
Apr 2017
202
Brb said:
Confucius said:


Japanese and Chinese people don't like each other either, but that didn't stop them from making characters of out of their country.



Except Korea is a neighboring country, so not irrelevant.

Taiwan is also a neighboring country. Why aren't you complaining about that too?


Why don't we throw Russia in there as well
Nov 7, 2017 3:55 AM
Offline
Apr 2016
232
mruize85 said:
Jans6ever said:
Koreans and Japanese are kinda racist to each other, in fact in WWII the japanese tried to exterminate or enslave them, and the chinese and... pretty much everyone who was not japanese in the fcking pacific.

The story written by the victors together with prejudice of the modern moral and values is... not history. Yeah, Empire of Japan did bad things before and during WWII, but be objective, who didn't do them back then?


Of course everyone did bad things in WWII, the world went fcking nuts. That doesnt mean that the japanese didnt do that shit to the koreans and chinese.
Nov 7, 2017 3:58 AM
♡( •ॢ◡-ॢ)✧˖° ♡

Offline
Dec 2014
21062
You really really need to watch Akatsuki no Yona or even Ashita no Joe if you wanted to see Korean charas that much.



(っ◔◡◔)っ 𝓘 𝔀𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝔀𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓭𝓪𝔂 ♥
Nov 7, 2017 4:00 AM

Offline
Mar 2014
21288
There are no French-Swedish characters in anime. I feel misrepresented
Nico- said:
@Comic_Sans oh no y arnt ppl dieing i need more ppl dieing rly gud plot avansement jus liek tokyo ghoul if erbudy dies amirite
Conversations with people pinging/quoting me to argue about some old post I wrote years ago will not be entertained
Nov 7, 2017 4:03 AM

Offline
May 2010
8126
Brb said:
Confucius said:


Japanese and Chinese people don't like each other either, but that didn't stop them from making characters of out of their country.



Except Korea is a neighboring country, so not irrelevant.

Taiwan is also a neighboring country. Why aren't you complaining about that too?


Because the people who live in Taiwan are ethnically Chinese.
Nov 7, 2017 4:08 AM

Offline
May 2010
8126
logopolis said:
China is far larger than Korea. So it's unsurprising.


Actually that's a good point, I hadn't realized the geographical aspect.
Nov 7, 2017 6:36 AM
Offline
Jul 2018
561867
BurningSpirit said:
Confucius said:
Japanese and Chinese people don't like each other either, but that didn't stop them from making characters of out of their country.
From what I know, the Chinese resent the Japanese, but the opposite isn't as intense.
There is negative view of north Koreans, but not of south Koreans. South Koreans are liked a lot more than Chinese

As to answer to OP's question, there are not many modern day immigrants from Korea. Koreans from for WW2 era all speak Japanese and aren't actually visible in society
Nov 7, 2017 12:13 PM

Offline
Sep 2017
2999
I see any apache helicopter, dakimura, subway train, chocolate race in anime and I dont even complain about it.
"When you made this thread, I cried and screamed"


-Swagernator 2017
Nov 7, 2017 12:32 PM

Offline
Nov 2011
6643
there are some Korean characters in some series though. as for why they aren't common - the setting is (usually) Japan and Korean people living in Japan are a minority.
PR: Dear my future have korean "rivals" side characters, and the VAs from S Korea actually met with the Japanese VAs (and the Japanese VAs also went to S Korea)
You can buy lossless digital music from your favorite Japanese artists on https://ototoy.jp/.
The songs are all DRM-free and you can re-download your purchased albums as you wish.
Show your support to your favorite artist if you can!
ps. if you are looking for Japanese albums, you have to search it in Japanese (not romaji). Just copy and paste the name.

For those who want to learn Japanese through anime
Resources for learning the language
Nov 7, 2017 12:44 PM

Offline
Oct 2010
21957
I just found out that Alucard is wallachian (sorta romanian) so I can't complain
Nov 7, 2017 12:47 PM

Offline
Feb 2015
2083
WAIT! THERE IS!!! NOBLESSE AWAKENING HAS KOREAN CHARACTERS!
Nov 7, 2017 12:47 PM

Offline
Apr 2011
5277
Because they're sworn enemies. Well honestly Korea seems to hate Japan way more than vice versa.
Nov 7, 2017 12:51 PM

Offline
Apr 2012
4896
DreamingBeats said:
PR: Dear my future have korean "rivals" side characters, and the VAs from S Korea actually met with the Japanese VAs (and the Japanese VAs also went to S Korea)
Haha, had forgotten about this one.
Nov 7, 2017 12:52 PM

Offline
Oct 2014
15752
I've actually seen a couple of Japanese anime that have Koreans in them, but usually the Koreans are either being oppressed or are doing the oppressing so maybe it's better that we don't see them so often. If horror anime had a tradition for the Korean to die first I'm sure that wouldn't make things any better.
Nov 7, 2017 1:03 PM

Offline
Jan 2012
429
When Inazuma Eleven added a Korean character in its roster, the Korean fanbase didn't liked the idea very much...
Anyway, there's a lot of political issues between Japan and Korea, that's why you don't see many koreans in anime.
Before 2008, anything of Japanese origin was PROHIBITED of being distributed in Korea. So yeah, it's a tough issue.
Nov 7, 2017 1:05 PM

Offline
Apr 2017
1794
Korean people are a myth, they don't actually exist
Nov 7, 2017 1:07 PM
Offline
Jan 2013
10764
Nyah_Chan said:
WAIT! THERE IS!!! NOBLESSE AWAKENING HAS KOREAN CHARACTERS!
Noblesse is a korean comic in the first place
gone bai bai
Nov 7, 2017 1:11 PM

Offline
Jan 2014
3694
Nationality isn't really all that important in anime.





Three things cannot be long hidden..
...the s u n, the m oo n, and the tr u th.


Nov 7, 2017 1:17 PM
fanservice<3

Offline
Mar 2012
13185
Gangnam Style was little known in Japan, despite the entire world going crazy for it

Nov 7, 2017 1:19 PM

Offline
Dec 2015
588
Why does it even fucking matter whether *insert race here* is in an anime?
Nov 7, 2017 1:28 PM

Offline
Nov 2017
104
Tsumugoi said:
Why does it even fucking matter whether *insert race here* is in an anime?

Years and years of brain washing about PC in the West... It's fucking impossible to see a TV show without tons of PC shit those days. What the hell does it matter if there are no gays on Blade Runner 2049? It's a fucking fiction film, not porn. Who cares where they put it in?
Nov 7, 2017 1:37 PM

Offline
Feb 2015
2083
Mkim said:
Nyah_Chan said:
WAIT! THERE IS!!! NOBLESSE AWAKENING HAS KOREAN CHARACTERS!
Noblesse is a korean comic in the first place


I know~ I read it... I'm a big fan...



(2017 most original pun)
Nov 7, 2017 4:46 PM

Offline
Nov 2014
4054
Zeruk said:
There is negative view of north Koreans, but not of south Koreans. South Koreans are liked a lot more than Chinese.
Historically anti-chinese sentiments has always been high in Japan, but it wasn't resentment or hatred, the Chinese were being looked down upon.

Only in recent years has hatred seen a sharp rise, but it's not exclusively in Japan. It corresponds with the rise of China's economy and the flood of annoying Chinese tourists around the world.
If your favourite character is Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko, you are my soul mate.

Been a long time since I've been here, I'll continue expressing myself freely and believe everyone should too.
My MAL Interview
Nov 7, 2017 9:41 PM
Offline
Jul 2018
561867
Come to think of it, I haven't seen a Korean character yet...but I've seen some Koreans being mentioned in the credits (ending song)

I wonder why
Nov 7, 2017 9:51 PM

Offline
Nov 2011
6643
AA5x4 said:
Come to think of it, I haven't seen a Korean character yet...but I've seen some Koreans being mentioned in the credits (ending song)
I wonder why

some of the work is outsourced to S Korea.
You can buy lossless digital music from your favorite Japanese artists on https://ototoy.jp/.
The songs are all DRM-free and you can re-download your purchased albums as you wish.
Show your support to your favorite artist if you can!
ps. if you are looking for Japanese albums, you have to search it in Japanese (not romaji). Just copy and paste the name.

For those who want to learn Japanese through anime
Resources for learning the language
Pages (2) [1] 2 »

More topics from this board

» 🍷 AD Summer 2025 Best Girl Contest ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

Shizuna - Sep 28

288 by Zarutaku »»
10 seconds ago

» Do we need more girls in tank tops in anime?

Catalano - 1 hour ago

4 by Sheol01 »»
5 minutes ago

» Waifu War V5 (Anniversary-Edition!) (Round 1) ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

Minkalex - Sep 28

329 by Sheol01 »»
15 minutes ago

» Do you assume that people know nothing about anime? ( 1 2 )

thewiru - Oct 6

63 by thewiru »»
18 minutes ago

» Manga to Anime changes that are minor and pointless

TheBlockernator - 1 hour ago

4 by WatchTillTandava »»
21 minutes ago
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login