INTERVIEW Teeniepings extend Korean animation's global popularity
SAMG Entertainment CEO Kim Su-hoon / Courtesy of SAMG Entertainment
SAMG Entertainment, the owner of the intellectual property (IP) for the 3D animation brand "Catch! Teenieping," is optimistic about its future growth. The series' fictional characters have garnered a significant fan base — primarily children — in the country and the company has exported the IP to more than 140 countries. The brand, launched in 2020, has seen its domestic popularity expand globally.
CEO Kim Su-hoon is betting on the brand to unlock a global audience for the Korean animation industry. The company’s financial strength has improved, moving out of the red, thanks to strong sales of the brand and the various goods and services it has generated.
For Kim, the Teeniepings, a horde of petite, big-eyed creatures from space who accidentally landed on Earth and befriended humans, are not only driving the company’s earning trajectory. They are also shifting the company to the forefront of the global animation industry.
In August 2024, “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love,” the first movie spinoff of the series, premiered in theaters in Korea. It sold over 1.23 million tickets, the second-highest among domestic animated films to hit theaters here and the fifth-highest among all animated features shown at domestic theaters. Teeniepings, with over 100 different characters introduced so far and each having a unique name and characteristic that is based on various human emotions, clearly had charmed young theater-goers.
It was just a single example of Teeniepings’ market influence here. The fantasy-drama-comedy series rolled out its fifth season last October, with total episodes now numbering over 140. Local audiences who watch the series via SAMG’s 20 media partner firms with platforms in on-demand streaming, TV and other online channels indulge in various Teenieping-inspired merchandise and services. They range from toys to foods, beverages, books, medicines, cosmetics, theme park and even a dedicated e-commerce platform (titled Emotion Castle where Teeniepings purportedly came from).
“The biggest strength of Teenieping was its potential for influencing a wide range of consumer markets,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times.
“Once you understood the variety of the Teeniepings, you could easily play along with the theme by using it to nickname your friends or express various feelings. (Nicknaming basically requires adding a suffix “-ping” to a choice of word.) It went so viral across our media consumers that the Teenieping IP is now being reproduced in consumer markets almost infinitely. The movie especially fueled the brand with huge popularity and has coined a new cultural community in Korea.”
Teenieping has boosted SAMG’s market power. The company has seen over 57 million subscribers to its YouTube channels and over 32.3 billion clicks overall. The merchandise is now being distributed across 380 retail stores, 53,000 convenience stores, major department stores and duty free shops in Korea. Over 275 companies have signed partnerships with SAMG to produce Teenieping-themed products. Emotion Castle has reached over 1.8 million memberships this year, a steep jump from 300,000 in 2023. Shortly before last Christmas, a brand-inspired toy sold out and caused counterfeiters to raise the prices of their knockoffs by five times. The company has sold over 7 million Teenieping-inspired figure toys so far.
An official poster for the fifth season of "Catch! Teenieping" / Courtesy of SAMG Entertainment
Thanks to its diverse outlets and soaring sales, SAMG last year saw its growth rate jump by 150 percent from 2020. Sales last year registered 75 billion won ($51.5 million) until the third quarter. Kim expects sales for the whole year will be near 100 billion won.
“It has been only four years since Teenieping met its fans. So I am really surprised to find that the brand is now being equally recognized as Korea’s earlier animation IPs that hit jackpots like Pororo and Baby Shark,” Kim said. “The Teeniepings are still young and have lots to accomplish. But I anticipate big things for them.”
Dazzling overseas
SAMG’s IPs include more than Teenieping. Established in 2000, the company now has a total of nine IPs with different 3D animation series like “Super Cops Mini Force,” “Metal Cardbot” and “Wish Cat.” With them, the company could have built up a wide export network of global clients.
Kim established the company’s first Chinese subsidiary in Guangzhou in 2023. It came in 2010 after the company began exporting its IPs — starting with Super Cops Mini Force — to China where the animation met local viewers. Teenieping debuted in the Chinese media market in 2021 via TV stations and on-demand streaming platforms such as Youku, iQIYI and Tencent. Metal Cardbot followed a year later. In September 2024, the Teenieping movie hit local cinemas. It was the first time a Korean animation IP opened in theaters in China.
“All our IPs took No. 1 positions shortly after their release in the Chinese market,” Kim said. “And it has been smooth sailing ever since. The rising popularity there led to the growth of our Chinese market by more than double each year and soaring sales. Our 2023 sales in China registered 8.6 billion won. As of the third quarter of 2024, the figure surpassed 20 billion won.”
The second season of the Teenieping series started airing in Japan last October. SAMG at the same time began exporting Teenieping merchandise to the country. The Japanese market expansion came after Kim established Nikoniko Entertainment in Tokyo in February 2024 as SAMG’s Japanese subsidiary.
Outside Northeast Asia, SAMG’s IP animations are meeting fans in countries in Southeast Asia including Malaysia and Thailand and in Europe and Russia as well.
Starfield Hanam in Gyeonggi Province hosts a "Catch! Teenieping" festival to celebrate Children's Day, May 5, 2023. Yonhap
“I anticipate further growth in Japan where people are familiar with animation IPs and accustomed to enjoying various subcultures,” Kim said. “And we are also actively discussing with many other countries to export our global animation character IPs and related goods.”
Kim’s IP exports are part of what have prompted the government to renew the country’s guidelines for Korean IP export. The ministries of industry and culture, academic experts, copyright-related researchers and export associations earlier this month agreed on further strengthening laws to protect Korean IPs more strongly.
The meeting came as Korean media content and other K-brands are wielding global influence and the need for their legal protection has subsequently surged around the world. Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo said in the meeting held in Seoul that Korean companies, “despite impending uncertainties, have rewritten the record volume of the country’s IP export surplus last year while facing the increasing risk of IP theft.”
Because of SAMG’s soaring sales from robust exports, Kim expects the company began earning a profit in the fourth quarter of last year. Not just the ticket sales of the Teenieping movie and vibrant viewership of the brand’s series but a huge growth of the company’s exports and expansion of consumer markets for its license brands have also attributed to his expectation, he said.
“Our goal this year is to make operating profits throughout the whole year,” Kim said. “In a longer term, we would like to become a globally influential firm that raises trust in K-brand content across global markets.”
Who is Kim Su-hoon?
Kim, 51, has been the CEO of SAMG Entertainment since 2000. He won a presidential merit in 2019 during former President Moon Jae-in’s administration which recognized the notable export volume of the company’s IP content.
He has been one of the directors at the Korea Animation Industry Association since 2014. Since 2007, he has also been officially supporting the Korea Animation Producers Association.
