Zzang-gu (partially lost South Korean Gloman English dub of "Crayon Shin-chan" anime series; circa 2001-2003)
Zzang-gu VHS title card released by Gloman.
Status: Partially Lost
Crayon Shin-chan is a Japanese anime adapted from the eponymous manga created by the late Yoshito Usui, produced by Shin-Ei Animation which has been running since 1992 on the Japanese station TV Asahi. After achieving great success across Asian markets, in 2001 the series received an English dub made in South Korea made to teach English to audiences in the country. Named Zzang-gu after the Korean name for Shin-chan, this dub was produced by Hanbit Video Production Co., Ltd. and later at Toy Production Co., Ltd. to be released by the company Samseongdang Media and its subsidiary Gloman Co., Ltd. as part of its "TV Ani•POPS English 21" monthly subscription learning program, licensed by Asian distributor Animation International.
Dub Errors
The dub is notable for being the first known English dub of the series overall, predating the dub made by Vitello Productions and later Phuuz Entertainment by over a year. Coincidentally, that dub covered several episodes overlapping with the Gloman dub. However, despite the fact that the dub was produced as a teaching tool, it stands out for its unnatural dialogue with strange wording, poor grammar, slow and slurred speech, awful voice acting and lip matching, and frequent use of foul language.
Many errors are also present in the subtitles, including misspellings, punctuation and grammar, and mishearings. The dub used Korean terminology frequently instead of Japanese terminology, and due to sharing a recording studio for some episodes, also bears a resemblance in editing style to the Korean dub originally released on home video from 1997 to 2001, although the theme song aired on SBS is used. The dub appears to use the original Japanese footage as a video basis, as some known episodes were not aired in South Korea until after their English release, under different titles, whereas the English titles resemble the Japanese ones more closely. No Korean text is seen in the video footage, either, due to localization.
In the over 20 years since the dub's release, it has fallen into extreme obscurity, with little traces left of the dub online until its partial recovery. Additionally, it is easy to confuse this dub with a later dub released by Wision and Daekyung in South Korea between 2004 and 2007 on DVD and VCD, which is much easier to obtain and has already been made available for online viewing.
History
Episodes of the dub were released on VCD and VHS in South Korea by the company Gloman Co., Ltd. (글로만) from early 2001 until about late 2003, when the company's websites shut down. According to the VHS tape labels, Gloman was in charge of planning, editing, and publishing, and manufacturing was done by Sangrok Multimedia. English was taught by the multimedia program through magazines and VCD videos, acting as the textbooks. Each volume included a textbook, alongside three audio cassette tapes, presumably one for each episode segment, but more likely music,) and a VCD, containing English dubbed episodes to watch and read along with. The bilingual textbooks contained episode scripts with screenshots, and each VCD was subtitled in both English and Korean. A VHS option was also available, with format chosen upon subscription.
Newspaper advertisements were also published in South Korean paper "The Dong-A Ilbo" throughout 2001, proclaiming "Multimedia English textbooks for the 21st century are finally here!" and "English couldn't be more fun than this". These newspapers are archived on the publication's website, but payment must be made for high quality PDF access.
The "TV Ani" part of the title was the Shin-chan episodes, "POPS" was popular songs (Great Pops), and "21" stood for the 21st century. Comic strips for studying grammar were also a part of the program.
Gloman's website also listed titles for each segment of each volume, and provided a sample video for one of the three included segments alongside its transcript in English and Korean. Each issue also had a self-test and an English cooking feature. Assorted textbook contents like "Animation to know and watch", "Idioms in my hand", or "Father & Son" were sometimes added. Other content could also be found at egloman.net, which appears to have been an online companion to the subscription by the company ETB. 24 volumes are known to exist.
With how little information has surfaced from the dub, and how quickly Gloman appears to have gone out of business, it is possible that this program was largely unsuccessful. This dub has therefore become obscure due to the lack of background information surrounding it.
Availability
Until 2023, very little was known about the dub outside of a single listing on South Korean shopping website hellomarket.com.[1] The user that created the listing has been deactivated, despite the fact the listing still appears to be for sale, and the listing was created on March 13, 2012. The listing states that the first 13 volumes were only being sold as companion textbooks, while the rest were new packages with tapes and VCDs included. It is assumed from the listing that only 24 volumes exist.
As shown on the Wayback Machine, Gloman's website was once available at gloman.net until the end of 2003, with content concerning Shin-chan at gloman.net/default_ani.htm. Seven of the aforementioned WMV sample video files are backed up by the Wayback Machine. Other content could also be found at egloman.net, which appears to have been an online companion to the subscription.
In late June or July 2023, a set of the first 12 volumes on VHS was listed on South Korean shopping website bunjang.co.kr by the user 김재천블루. Using the website’s official global shipping proxy, globalbunjang.com, Discord user @harmony_omega paid to buy the item[2] on August 26, 2023. On September 8, 2023, they received the tapes, digitizing them and uploading them to Nyaa the next day, and on the Internet Archive on September 12. Despite the fact that an image of volume 20 was included in the listing, it was not apart of the package. Another listing was made by the seller on December 16, 2023[3], including volumes 16 and 20, which was purchased by the same Discord user on December 19, 2023. The two tapes were digitized and uploaded to the Internet Archive on January 19, 2024.
In the later volumes produced by Toy Production Co., Ltd., text editing is improved and the voices of Hiroshi and Enchō-san are different.
Episode List
The Korean episode titles listed are from this dub, and not the TV/video dubs.
| # (English) | # (Japanese) | Episode Title (English) | Episode Title (Korean) | Episode Title (Japanese) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85a | I want to change my hairstyle. | 머리 모양을 바꿔요 | オラ髪形を変えるゾ | Found |
| 88c | Let's eat bacteria. | 박테리아를 먹자 | バイキングを食べるゾ | ||
| 107b | Courage test camp | 담력 테스트 캠프 | キャンプで肝だめしだゾ | ||
| 2 | 99a | It's fun riding a bicycle to kindergarten | 자전거 타고 유치원 가기는 재밌어 | 自転車通園楽しいゾ | Found |
| 82a | Waking up Zzang-gu | 짱구 깨우기 작전 | チコク防止作戦だゾ | ||
| 85c | Housewarming visit to dad's boss | 과장님 댁 집들이 | 課長の家は新築だゾ | ||
| 3 | 98 | Putting the clothes in order | 옷 정리 | 衣がえをするゾ | Found |
| Beef for lunch | 점심은 갈버 | ランチは焼き肉だゾ | |||
| It's fun going to the racecourse | 경마장은 재밌다 | 競馬場はおもしろいゾ | |||
| 4 | 158b | Go catch dad | 아빠를 추적하라 | 父ちゃんを追跡だゾ | Found |
| 158c | Accomplish the delivery mission | 배달의 임무를 완수하라 | 配達の使命をはたすゾ | ||
| 159c | Proposal Anniversary | 프로포즈 기념일 | プロポーズ記念日だゾ | ||
| 5 | 129a | Fire Prevention | 불조심 | 火の用心するゾ | Found |
| 132a | The baby is cute | 아가는 귀여워 | 赤ちゃんは可愛いゾ | ||
| 139b | White is sick | 흰둥이가 아파요 | シロがお病気だゾ | ||
| 6 | 134c | Let's go and see the stars | 별 보러 가자 | 冬の星座を見るゾ | Found |
| 141a | Let's go for a ride | 드라이브 가자 | ドライブに行きたいゾ | ||
| 141b | I want my own room | 내 방을 갖고 싶어 | オラの部屋が欲しいゾ | ||
| 7 | 151a | Playing With A Baby | 아기 랑 놀아요 | 赤ちゃんと遊ぶゾ | Found |
| 152a | Zzang-gu's Laundry Operation | 짱구의 빨래 지키기 | 雨ふりザーザーだゾ | ||
| 154a | Grandfather's Runaway | 할아버지의 가출 | じいちゃんの家出だゾ | ||
| 8 | 174c | Mom's Accident | 엄마의 사고 | 母ちゃんが事故ったゾ | Found |
| 175a | Zzang-gu's Sweet Love | 짱구의 사랑 | オラの本気の恋だゾ | ||
| 175b | Love Confession | 사랑 고백 | オラの恋の告白だゾ | ||
| 9 | 166a | Three Thieves And Me | 세 도둑과 나 | オラと３人の盗賊だゾ | Found |
| 166c | Remodeling White's House | 흰둥이 집을 고치자 | シロの家を改築だゾ | ||
| 167c | White And Eisenhower | 흰둥이와 아이젠하워 | シロの愛情物語だゾ | ||
| 10 | 170a | Zzang-gu's Family Gets A Cold | 감기 든 짱구네 식구들 | 一家そろって発熱だゾ | Found |
| 171a | The Teacher Gets A Job Offer | 스카웃 제의를 받은 선생님 | 誘われたまつざか先生だゾ | ||
| 172c | My Poor Dad | 불쌍한 아빠 | 父ちゃんのこづかいがないゾ | ||
| 11 | 173b | I Won't Get Out Of The Electric Blanket | 전기 담요 밖으로 나갈 수 없어!! | こたつから出ないゾ | Found |
| 176a | Being Home With Dad | 아빠와 단둘이서 | 父ちゃんと二人だゾ | ||
| 176c | Get The Panty Thief | 팬티 도둑을 잡아라 | おパンツ泥棒が出たゾ | ||
| 12 | 177a | Nami Is Invited | 누 나를 초 대했다 | おねいさんをご招待だゾ | Found |
| 180a | I Don't Want To Come Back | 나, 돌아가고 싶지 않아! | オラ帰りたくないゾ | ||
| 181a | A Monkey In Our House | 우 리집에 온 원숭 이 | おサルが乱入したゾ | ||
| 13 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 14 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 15 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 16 | 194b | Cheer Up, Cheolsu! | 철수야, 힘내! | 風間君が恋しちゃったゾ | Found |
| 194c | Cheolsu Is Falling In Love | 사랑에 빠진 철수 | 恋する風間君をお助けするゾ | ||
| 195b | Teacher's Happy Day | 선생님의 기쁜날 | よしなが先生うれし泣きだゾ | ||
| 17 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 18 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 19 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 20 | 198a | Pretending To Be Refined Is Too Hard | 고상 떨기는 너무 힘들어 | お上品はキュークツだゾ | Found |
| 199c | At The Park With Dad | 아빠와 공원에서 | 父ちゃんと公園で遊ぶゾ | ||
| 200b | Dad Gets A Love Letter | 러브레터를 받은 아빠 | ラブレターで災難だゾ | ||
| 21 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 22 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 23 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | Lost |
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | ||
| 24 | 216b | Where Is My Love? | unknown | お兄ちゃんだって甘えたいゾ | Lost |
| 203a | A Baby Comes To Our House! | unknown | 赤ちゃんのお帰りだゾ | ||
| 203c | Sleepy! Sleepy! Sleepy! | unknown | 眠くて眠くて眠たい一日だゾ |
Gallery
Everything included in a monthly subscription.
A page sample of episode 85a from a volume of TV Ani•POPS English 21: Zzang-gu by Gloman.
A stack of volumes of TV Ani•POPS English 21: Zzang-gu by Gloman. It is known that at least 24 volumes exist.
A low-quality sample of a print ad for TV Ani•POPS English 21: Zzang-gu by Gloman, which appeared in South Korean newspaper "The Dong-A Ilbo" on February 13, 2001.
A low-quality sample of a print ad for TV Ani•POPS English 21: Zzang-gu by Gloman, which appeared in South Korean newspaper "The Dong-A Ilbo" on March 22, 2001.
A low-quality sample of a print ad for TV Ani•POPS English 21: Zzang-gu by Gloman, which appeared in South Korean newspaper "The Dong-A Ilbo" on October 26, 2001.
A VHS tape of the dub, volume 20.
12 VHS tapes of the dub, volumes 1-12.
A VHS tape of the dub, volume 9.
2 VHS tapes of the dub, volumes 16 and 20.
2 VHS tapes of the dub, volumes 16 and 20, spine view.
See Also
- Crayon Shin-chan "Episode 93" (partially found episode of anime series; 1994)
- Crayon Shin-Chan 3 (found South Korean Nuon port of PC platformer; 2000-2003)
- Shin Chan (found LUK Internacional English dub of anime based on manga series; 2015)
- Shin Chan (partially found Vitello and Phuuz English dub of anime based on manga series; 2002-2004)
External Links
- The MyAnimeList page for Crayon Shin-chan. Retrieved 19 Feb '24
- The Anime News Network page for Crayon Shin-chan. Retrieved 19 Feb '24
- Internet Archive link for the Zzang-gu dub, volumes 1 through 12. Retrieved 19 Feb '24
- Internet Archive link for the Zzang-gu dub, volumes 16 and 20. Retrieved 19 Feb '24
- Nyaa link for the Zzang-gu dub, volumes 1 through 12. Retrieved 19 Feb '24
- OK.ru link for the Zzang-gu dub, volumes 1 through 6. Retrieved 19 Feb '24
- OK.ru link for the Zzang-gu dub, volumes 7 through 12. Retrieved 19 Feb '24