Clever Raccoon Dog

Clever Raccoon Dog is a North Korean animated television series produced by SEK Studio which aired on North Korean state television. The series was produced for a number of years and features both old and new animation styles, depending on the production year of each episode. The series focuses on three main characters (a raccoon dog, a male bear, and a female cat), who are often involved in minor adventures or incidents. Each episode has a scholastic element or a particular message, focusing on matters as scientific information, road safety, sportsmanship, among others. The first 9 episodes (episode 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 22, 23) are co-produced with the French animation studio Col.Ima.Son and P.M.M.P.

Main characters

 *  (너구리, Raccoon Dog): A brown raccoon dog. He is smart and kind.
 *  (곰, Bear): A brown bear. He is strong and greedy.
 *  (야웅이, Cat): A blue cat. She is naughty and tomboyish. Her gender is unclear, and even SEK's staff are confused. Although listed as female in international dubs and some DVDs and merchandise, she is considered a "boy" in some episodes. There is no clear answer from the producers about this.

Minor characters

 *  (꼴꼴이, Piglet): He is a mischievous baby pig. He first appeared in episode 65 and is younger than Neoguri, Gom, and Yaungi.
 *  (멤메, Baby Goat): He is Neoguri's classmate.
 *  (삐용이, Chick): He is a baby chick and appeared in episode 47.
 *  (장수곰/곰삼촌, Uncle Bear): He is Gom's uncle and first appeared in episode 71. He has a job manufacturing canned fish and is attacked and knocked down by hungry wolf thieves.
 *  (깡총이 안내원, Guide Rabbit): She is the village guide and reporter, and wears a fancy pink dress. She first appeared in episode 67.
 *  (양아주머니, Mrs. Sheep): She is a sheep wearing a light pink dress. She first appeared in episode 70.
 *  (염소 할아버지, Mr. Goat)
 *  (여우도둑, Thief Fox): She is a thief who tries to steal a Neoguri's robot crab.
 *  (큰고양이, Captain Lynx): He is a lynx wearing an eyepatch. He tries to steal Neoguri's robot crab with a fox, but ultimately fails.

Voice Cast

 * Neoguri : Song Young-Suk (Episode 47–54) → Rim Bok-Hui (Episode 55) → Song Young-Suk (Episode 56–59) → Rim Bok-Hui (Episode 60–65) → Han Ok-Won (Episode 66-)
 * Gom : Won Jong-Suk (Episode 47–62) → Rim Un-Yong (Episode 63) → Rim Bok-Hui (Episode 64-)
 * Yaungi : Kwon Nyong-Ju (Episode 47–55) → Rim Un-Yong (Episode 55–62) → Lee Eun-Ju (Episode 63-)
 * Thief Fox : Rim Bok-Hui
 * Captain Lynx : Mok Geum-Sung
 * Thief Mouse : Dong Yun-Mi
 * Pilot Weasel : Park Sung-Il

Media
63 episodes (1-63) have been released on DVD by Mokran Video.

The series resumed in 2021, with episode 64 being aired on 19 December. These newly produced episodes featured new actresses.

On February 4, 2023, The Pyongyang Times announced the production of episodes 70, 71 and 72. These episodes are respectively titled "Orange Necklace", "Waterproof Cloth" and "Plastic Magnet".

Episodes

 * English title list is almost written according to formal DVD translation, and asterisk marks mean personal translation, which is because their English names do not exist in it.

Reception
The series was aired in South Korea in the early 2000s by South Korean public broadcasters SBS and EBS under the original name, as well as on KBS under the title "Raccoon and Forest Friends" (너구리와 숲속 친구들) due to the Sunshine Policy which eased restrictions on North Korean media and promoted inter-Korean cooperation notably fields of culture and art.

In the late 2000s, it was dubbed into English by Mondo TV as The Little Bear which is not to be confused with the Little Bear series of books.

Philately
On June 21, 1989, the DPRK issued three postage stamps, dedicated to Measurement of Height, an episode of the series.