Released in 1976, the original Robot Taekwon V (known as Voltar the Invincible in the U.S.) was the first Korean animated feature film. In 2005, it also became the first Korean film to undergo full digital restoration – a process that took three years to complete. The newly restored film premiered at the 10th Pusan International Film Festival, and enjoyed a successful theatrical release on 170 screens in 2007.
Now, this iconic, taekwondo-kicking robot is set for the live action/CGI update. Planned to be released in 2009 (and to go head-to-head with The Transformers 2 in the Korean market), Robot Taekwon V (2009) is directed by WON Shin-yeon [원신연] of Seven Days and A Bloody Aria fame. Production is handled by Shin Cine [신씨네] (My Sassy Girl), and the budget is estimated at 20 billion Korean Won (over 20 million USD). CGI and visual effects are done by a consortium of Korean VFX companies, including macrograph [매크로그래프], mofac [모팩], Insight Visual [인사이트비쥬얼], DTI (Digital Tetra Inc.) [디티아이], and EON Digital Films[이오엔].
Yub. That looks pretty bad ass.
Correction: I mistakenly referred to "Robot Taekwon V" (1976) as the first Korean animated feature film. Instead, than honor belongs to "Hong Gil-Dong" (1967), which was directed by Shin Dong-heon. His younger brother, Shin Dong-won, was the creator of "Hong Gil-dong The Hero" comic strip.