Kakao Friends

Kakao Friends (stylized as KAKAO FRIENDS; Korean: 카카오프렌즈) are featured characters based on KakaoTalk emoticons released in November 2012 by Kakao. The copyrights of the characters are currently owned and managed by Kakao's subsidiary Kakao IX, which was formerly named Kakao Friends prior to an inter-subsidiary acquisition in 2018.[1]

Kakao Friends
First appearanceNovember 2012
Created byKakao
Designed byHozo (Kwon Soon-ho)
In-universe information
Full nameRyan (Lion)
Apeach (Peach)
Tube (Duck)
Con (Crocodile)
Muzi (Danmuji)
Frodo (Dog)
Neo (Cat)
Jay-G (Mole)

The character illustrator is Kwon Soon-ho, also known by his pen name Hozo.[2][3] Kakao Friends has been used in various products and commercials, and has gained popularity and have become beloved characters in South Korea.[4]

Characters
Ryan of Kakao Friends
Kakao Friends dolls

Kakao Friends characters were developed in about two months after the idea meeting in July 2012 began.[5]

Muzi series
  • Muzi: Curious and playful, Muzi is actually a piece of danmuji in rabbit clothes.[2]
  • Con: Con, who looks like a small crocodile,[2] is the one who raised Muzi.[6]
  • Apeach: Apeach has the setting of escaping from a peach tree after learning that she became monoecious due to a genetic modification.[2]
  • Jay-G: Jay-G is a mole character who was sent to find a rabbit's liver as an agent from the underground country. So, he chases after Muzi for his/her liver. He apparently renamed himself Jay-G, after looking up to the American hip-hop artist, Jay-Z.[2]

Frodo series
  • Frodo: Frodo is a rich-born dog from the city. He is self-conscious about being a mixed-blooded dog. He usually wears a red dog collar or a tie. Frodo is officially a couple with Neo, the cat character.[2]
  • Neo: Neo is a cat character with a bob cut wig and she is the girlfriend of Frodo.[2]
  • Tube: Tube is a duck. He is insecure about his small feet, so he wears flippers.[7] If he feels extreme fear or anger, he spits fire out of his mouth and turns into a crazy green duck.[8]

Ryan series
  • Ryan: The character named Ryan was newly announced on January 22, 2016. He is a strong, independent male lion. At first glance, he looks like a bear, but he is actually a maneless lion. Ryan was a successor to the throne of Dung Dung Island, but he decided royalty was not for him.[9] A lot of people misunderstand him because of his expressionless face, but he’s the trustworthy mentor who has delicate emotions.[10][11] Ryan's tail is short because it is cuter.[12]

Products and shop

Many Kakao Friends products have been produced, ranging from foods, games, household supplies, finance, and more.[13][14][15][16][17]

Beginning in Sinchon in April 2014, the company opened a store in the form of a pop-up store in major department stores in major cities such as Daegu and Busan, and several stores were established as regular stores. In addition to the character products sold in stores, KaKao Friends characters are used in collaboration with other companies in other fields.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Kakao Friends gets new name Kakao IX after takeover". The Korea Herald. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  2. "Pictures speak louder than words". The Korea Herald News. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  3. "카카오톡 캐릭터 디자이너를 만나다" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  4. "Kakao Friends become most beloved characters in Korea". The Korea Herald News. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  5. "카톡 이모티콘 '노란 토끼'가 단무지라고?…카카오 프렌즈 뒷이야기" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  6. "Which Kakao friend are you?". The Manila Times. September 27, 2014. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  7. "Kakao Friends is all about simpatico characters". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  8. Herald, The Korea (2016-05-27). "[EYE] Pictures speak louder than words". www.koreaherald.com. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  9. "The Kakao Friends Lovable Characters with Life-Sized Personalities". KAKAO FRIENDS ONLINE STORE. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  10. "카카오 '라이언' 디자이너를 만나다". brunch (in Korean). 2016-07-06. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  11. "Ryan the maneless lion brings in big bucks". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  12. "카카오프렌즈", 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전 (in Korean), 2019-02-27, retrieved 2019-03-18
  13. 무단전재, Ⓒ 종합 경제정보 미디어 이데일리-상업적; 금지, 재배포 (2015-05-11). "식품 프랜차이즈, 캐릭터 활용 마케팅 `봇물`". edaily. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  14. "'프렌즈런'도 Top10 진입… 카카오프렌즈 연타석 홈런". hankyung.com (in Korean). 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  15. "'프렌즈타운' 애플 앱스토어 게임 인기 순위 1위". mk.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  16. FNTIMES. "우리·하나 '뱅크월렛카카오' 앞선 출시". 한국금융신문. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  17. "다음카카오, 카카오프렌즈 담은 '하나 체크카드' 출시". 100세시대의 동반자 브릿지경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  18. "KAKAO FRIENDS". store.kakaofriends.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
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