Abandoned dog Moong-chi runs into a dog called Jjang-a and his pack, which hide in a derelict re-development area. Moong-chi wants to believe his owner’s last words to him, “Wait for me!” but finally accepts the reality of being abandoned and gets used to living with Jjang-a and his pack. One day he comes across another lead dog called Ba-mi and his pack, which live wild in the woods. Jjang-a’s pack are used to the convenience of the city but Bam-i and his lot try to stay wild; both are dogs with different lifestyles and they go on adventures to ‘The Place’ where every dog can live happily away from the demolition and brutal dog hunters. Crossing busy roads, jumping barbed wire fences and hiding from the tenacious dog hunters, they slowly head north. Will they arrive in ‘The Place’ which is full of beautiful fields and fireflies without any danger?

Underdog is an animation made by two directors, Oh Sung-yoon and Lee Choon-baek, director of Leafie, a Hen into the Wild (2011), which has rewritten Korean animation box office history with 2.2 million admissions. Having taken 6 years to complete, this animation is about the dogs’ journey to find real freedom, happiness and their true selves. The long preparation time and efforts are reflected in the excellent quality of the graphics, the distinctive individuality of all the dogs, especially lead character Moongchi, Jjang-a and Gaeko. The voice-overs by actors like Doh Kyung-soo, Park So-dam, Park Chul-min, make the story three dimensional in giving a voice to the characters. As the title suggests, this film delivers both deep emotions and a sense of fun through a group of alienated characters in their journey to find a beautiful world together. Underdog showcases a new realm of Korean feature animation both in subject matter and expression. The dogs’ journey to their utopia, and the scenery they witness on the way foresee the recent reality that war has ended and is heading for peace. (MO Eun-young)