Children's Animation Video Pacing: A Comparison of Korean and Foreign Programs

This study analyzed the screen transition pacing of children's animation programs using digital image processing. Based on a survey targeting parents of 4-6 years olds, 18 animation programs frequently watched by children were selected and compared by their origin of production countries. These 18 programs were classified into 11 domestic and 7 overseas programs. The analysis revealed that overseas programs exhibited more frequent pacing transitions. This difference remained significant after controlling for video length and episode characteristics. While there has been a lack of analysis on the strengths and content characteristics of Korean animation children programs, this study utilized computational methods to analyze screen transition characteristics of domestic and overseas programs. Furthermore, by revealing that Korean animation tends to have slower pacing, the study showed the potential for Korean animation to be relatively unaffected by negative influences related to children's cognitive development and video contents. Despite the scarce research on animation pacing in Korea, the importance of studying children's video content continues to rise, underscoring the significant role this study plays as a stepping stone in the field.