Dub — Evangelion Korean
The second official dubbing project was for the visual novel game Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel . This version is highly regarded by the community. Improved Casting
Many older fans prefer the original broadcast cast for their energetic performances, while newer viewers often appreciate the higher production values and consistency of the modern Netflix recording.
The new Korean dubs have been met with overwhelming positivity. Fans on social media and forums have praised the casting, noting the incredible amount of star power involved in the modern productions. Specifically, the new dubs have been lauded for featuring some of Korea's most beloved "prestige" voice actors. The performances, particularly for the Rebuild of Evangelion films, have been described as being of a much higher quality than previous streaming versions, making the Blu-ray the definitive way to experience Evangelion in Korean.
This version, aired on cable, is sometimes referred to as the standard cast and included:
By the mid-1990s, this ban was slowly beginning to thaw, but broadcast television was still heavily restricted. Japanese animation could only be aired if it was heavily localized, censored, and stripped of obvious Japanese cultural references. Characters were given Korean names, Japanese text was edited out, and opening themes were frequently re-recorded in Korean. The VHS Era: The First Legal Korean Dub (1997) evangelion korean dub
| Character | | Tooniverse Dub (1999) | Blu-ray / UFE Dub (2021-2022) | Rebuild Dub (2021) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Shinji Ikari | 안경진 | 손정아 | 채민지 | 이새아 | | Rei Ayanami | 이진화 | 이현진 | 박시윤 | 우정신 | | Asuka Langley Soryu | N/A | 지미애 | 김하루 | 여민정 (as Shikinami) | | Misato Katsuragi | N/A | 최덕희 | 김현지 | 소연 | | Gendo Ikari | 김승준 | 김관철 | 정승욱 | 정승욱 |
was via VHS in the late 1990s. This version is often remembered with mixed feelings: Production Limitations
Today, the Korean dubbing of Evangelion stands as a testament to how far South Korea's media industry has come. What started as an illicit, bootlegged subculture in the late 1990s has evolved into a fully realized, officially sanctioned, and masterfully acted cinematic experience available on global streaming platforms. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, let me know:
Evangelion eventually found its way to Korean television via cable channels like AniOne (now AniPlus). Unlike the direct-to-video release, the broadcast version featured a different cast, leading to its recognition as a distinct "broadcast dub". The specific cast for this version includes (손정아) as Shinji Ikari, Lee Hyun-jin (이현진) as Rei Ayanami, and Kim Gwan-chul (김관철) as Gendo Ikari. Like the VHS version, this broadcast dub holds a special place in the memory of a generation of Korean anime fans. The second official dubbing project was for the
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a beloved anime series that has gained a significant following worldwide. The series, created by Gainax and Studio Khara, has been dubbed into various languages, including Korean. This report provides an overview of the Evangelion Korean dub, its history, and notable aspects.
The Streaming Era: Amazon Prime and Netflix (2019–Present)
The first official Korean dub of the original 26-episode television series was produced not for TV broadcast, but for a home video VHS and DVD release by the distributor Pioneer (later unified under various home video licenses).
The history of the Korean dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion is a fascinating journey through four distinct eras, reflecting the evolution of the South Korean anime market and changing standards in localization. 1. The Early Days: The VHS Dub (Late 1990s) The new Korean dubs have been met with
Voiced by Lee Hyun-sun , who tackled the difficult task of portraying Rei's detached, monotone, and enigmatic persona without sounding entirely robotic.
In the original Japanese broadcast, during the "Congratulations" scene, the children clap. In the Korean dub, due to a mistranslation of the instrumental track and a directive to "make it feel like a graduation ceremony," the children don’t just clap—they sing a short, awkward, acapella version of "Love is a Canvas" (a popular Korean children's song).
Early localizations were handled through home video distributors. These releases faced heavy scrutiny from censorship boards. Episodes were often edited to remove overt Japanese text or cultural references, a common practice in Korean broadcasting at the time known as waesaek removal. Despite the edits, these early versions introduced iconic voice actors to the roles of Shinji, Rei, and Asuka. The Animax Korea Broadcast
The 2021 release is the culmination of years of effort to bring Evangelion to Korean audiences in the best possible way. The studio worked for a long time to secure the necessary rights, and the resulting Ultimate Fan Edition (UFE) Blu-ray was celebrated by collectors. It was a comprehensive package that included:
If you want a comparison between the and the Amazon Prime movie dub