Director Kim Seung-yeon on Animation, Loneliness, and Her New Short Film

The Inspiration Behind The Caterpillar

Kim stated that her current emotional state directly mirrored the premise of “The Caterpillar.” As friends found jobs or moved away to different environments, she felt a distinct sense of being left behind. “My childhood friends drifted apart as our life circumstances changed,” Kim said in an interview with Master Jang Jin-gu. “When we finally met up after a long time, there wasn’t much to talk about anymore, and only past stories remained. That situation felt a bit sad, so I made a project focusing on the emotion of loneliness.”

Themes of Growth and Solitude

The film centers on a bug that remains behind after companions turn into butterflies and depart, leaving the sole survivor to build a nest. Kim explained that she wanted to explore growth through a different lens by focusing on an insect enduring its own timeframe while others leave.

Everyone turns into a butterfly and leaves, but through the caterpillar that builds its nest alone and endures its own time, I wanted to talk about another way of growing.

Kim Seung-yeon The narrative highlights two central visual moments: three bugs lying together in a nest, and characters leaving one by one as they transform. Kim noted that the entire project was built around showcasing these two specific scenes.

Production Techniques and Visual Style

To capture textures absent in digital 2D formats, Kim utilized stop-motion animation techniques. Because building a full physical set alone proved impractical, she combined collage and chroma key methods to create physical depth. “It was a process of finding my own fast and simple way to make things alone,” Kim explained regarding the production style. She prefers simple plots and intuitive direction, aiming to present striking illustrations where every frame moves fluidly. “I think animation needs to be pretty,” Kim said. “If illustration cut by cut isn’t pretty, it looks like it was made carelessly. Everyone doesn’t need to understand my work 100 percent. I like works that leave room for individual interpretation.”

Career Path and Ongoing Dilemmas

Kim transitioned from an academic high school to a specialized vocational school to pursue drawing, eventually finding animation to be the most compelling medium due to the satisfaction of combining moving images with music. Outside of her personal films, she handles freelance illustration, comic art, and emoticon design. Balancing personal projects with the financial realities of earning a living remains an ongoing challenge. “Making a living is my biggest worry right now,” Kim said. “I want to keep doing personal work while making money, but it is a dilemma. It is a period of chaos. I feel the walls of reality a lot these days.”