Dec 4, 2019

Let Korea's "Doggie Corgi" Heal You: ASMR Animation May Be the Next Big Thing

Are you tired from work? - Are you swept away by the frenetic pace of social media? - Do you find the special ambient sounds pleasantly stimulating? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, congratulations!

This Youtube channel is the brainchild of Studio Goindol in Korea, and the concept is simple. In dozens of videos, a cute animated corgi and his friends appear in a variety of comforting scenes: a picnic in the Alps, a walk in the suburbs, a train at sunset along the coast. They frolic and relax in a looping animation cycle, while soothing instrumental music plays on the soundtrack. The channel has gained popularity, with hundreds of thousands of video views.

Jeongsoo Hur, president of Goindol, tells Cartoon Brew why he launched the channel:

"We wanted to give people this message: 'It's okay. It's okay. The goal of the Doggie Corgi episodes is to make people feel warm and comfortable just by staring at a laid-back, sentimental scene amidst a bustling screen full of flashy effects and editing.

There are variations on the format. One animation takes place in a bakery that appears in Hayao Miyazaki's "The Witch's Delivery Service. Another is labeled "ASMR animation. This is a reference to a phenomenon in which very specific auditory and visual stimuli cause some people to experience a delightful tingling sensation. (ASMR stands for the non-clinical term "autonomous sensory meridian response," and Vox's commentary on this subject is more detailed.)

The Doggie Corgi channel's ASMR video accordingly emphasizes certain sounds. As Herr explains, the studio stumbled upon this subculture by chance:

Our original goal was to provide relaxing background music that could be simply played along with the soothing animation. Therefore, we wanted to provide a subtle ambient sound for the scene.

Frankly, [our soundtrack] is more like ambient sound than ASMR content. However, the definition of ASMR in the content-consuming world is constantly evolving, and people are beginning to view highly sensitive audio content as ASMR. We haven't talked to any "real" ASMR people yet, but if changes and equipment permit, we'd like to try something that really makes sense as ASMR content.

ASMR awareness has gradually spread over the years, and a wide variety of Youtube videos now cater to people experiencing ASMR. However, most of those videos feature live humans performing actions known to cause the sensation of ASMR. It will be interesting to see how other artists utilize this medium in the future, especially how they explore the visual cues of ASMR.

These dogs were designed by Goindol artist Greengrin as a pet project (pun intended). Says Herr, "These four characters are Greengrin's creations, but they also fill a void in his solitude." Greengrin is heavily involved in video production, and the studio plans to develop these characters into a multimedia franchise consisting of a webcomic, interactive content, television series, and feature film. Dougie Corgi already has an Instagram account.

Founded in 2001, Goindoll specializes in 2D animation and has handled pre-production for a variety of commercial projects. The company works closely with Synergy Media, another Korean-based CG studio. Both have partnered with Turner Broadcasting to produce the series "Beat Monsters," which aired on Cartoon Network EMEA and APAC. Goindl is currently working on Synergy's feature film "Superboard" and various television series.0]

We are always striving to develop something new and fresh. Currently, the Korean animation industry is dominated by toy-based shows, which limits the role and opportunities for creators. We are trying to change that little by little.