The country where “The Simpsons” cartoon is animated was finally featured in the long running series:
Popular animated sitcom family The Simpsons have been all around the world. They went to Japan where Bart and Homer became fluent in Japanese in prison and they nearly died on a game show, Australia where Bart escaped the country’s supposedly brutal justice system, and Brazil in an episode that had the local tourist board threatening a lawsuit over its depiction as a crime-ridden slum. Now in their 30th season, the Simpsons have finally made it to Korea, the country where they are animated.
Korea Times
In the episode aired March 17 U.S. time, Bart goes to Seoul to participate in an esports tournament. The whole family comes along after Lisa, a practicing Buddhist, expresses interest in visiting Jogye Temple for its salt mandalas. On arrival, they drive past the “Simpsons Animation Studio and Casino” and stay at the “Courtyard by DMZ.”
At Jogye Temple, parents Homer and Marge both achieve “zen” by making salt mandala portraits out of salt and destroying them. Monks, including one voiced by Korean-American actor Ken Jeong, admire Homer’s sudden enlightenment and compare him to a portly Buddhist statue at the temple.
The episode ends with the esports match at Sangam World Cup Stadium broken up by riot police and robots as the theme to “M*A*S*H” plays.
Like past Simpsons vacation episodes, the story is entertaining if not examined closely. But The Korea Times got David A. Mason, a professor at Sejong University, and history researcher Matt VanVolkenburg to watch the episode.
You can read more at the link, if you want to read an overthinking by experts about The Simpsons episode.
