Kakao Friends Explained

Kakao Friends
First:	November 2012
Creator:	Kakao
Designer:	Hozo (Kwon Soon-ho)
Full Name:	Ryan (Lion) Choonsik (Cat) Apeach (Peach) Tube (Duck) Con (Crocodile) Muzi (Radish) Frodo (Dog) Neo (Cat) Jay-G (Mole)

Kakao Friends (stylized as KAKAO FRIENDS;) 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]

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

Characters

Kakao Friends characters were developed in about two months after the idea meeting in July 2012 began.^[4]

Muzi series

• Muzi: Curious and playful, Muzi is actually a piece of radish in rabbit clothes.^[5]
• Con: Con, who looks like a small crocodile, is the one who raised Muzi.^[6] It always shows one side of its face, which makes it mysterious.^[7]
• Apeach: Apeach has the setting of escaping from a peach tree after learning that she became monoecious due to a genetic modification. Kakao has made a short-form animation of Apeach, PeachFive which is launched April 2021.^[8] Starting with the series of Peach Five,^[9] it is planning to continue experimenting with various contents using Apeach Character IP in order to increase contact points with MZ generation and expand global fandom.^[10]
• 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.

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.
• Neo: Neo is a cat character with a bob cut wig and she is the girlfriend of Frodo.
• Tube: Tube is a duck. He is insecure about his small feet, so he wears flippers.^[11] If he feels extreme fear or anger, he spits fire out of his mouth and turns into a crazy green duck.^[12]

Ryan series

• Ryan: The character named Ryan was newly announced on January 22, 2016. He was strong and independent, but not now. At first glance, he does not look like anything, but he is actually a male lion without a mane. Ryan was a successor to the throne of Dung Dung Island, but he decided royalty was not for him.^[13] A lot of people misunderstand him because of his expressionless face, but he's the trustworthy mentor who has delicate emotions.^{[14] [15]} Ryan's tail is short because it is cuter. He has a cat called Choonsik.^[16] On Kakaopage, a webtoon called Ryan the lion was published in a series from October 26, 2020, to January 25, 2021.^[17]
• Choonsik: Choonsik is a female stray cat adopted by Ryan. Her favorite food is pumpkin sweet potato. Raongi, Nyan and Choonsik were nominated for the name and named Choonsik on Instagram on September 10, 2020. Choonsik goods was also released on December 17, 2020.^[18]

Niniz series

• Penda Jr.: Penda is an alien animal that made a crash landing in snowtown. It is Ratser Panda who dreams of revenge.
• Scappy: Scappy was originally a polar bear, but became a rabbit. Also, Scappy is the most popular chef in Snowtown.
• Kero & Berony: They are playful twin penguin brother and sister. They can be distinguished by the shell hairpin on their head.
• Jordy: Jordy is a dinosaur that has been kept secret since its existence. On September 18, 2020, it hosted the Jordy pop-up store at the Kakao Friends Shop in Gangnam.^[19]
• Cob & Bbanya: They are curious crows and hippos. They act as Snowtown's detectives.
• Angmond: Angmond is a chocolate-loving harp seal.^[20]

Products and shop

Many Kakao Friends products have been produced, ranging from foods, games, household supplies, finance, and more.^{[21] [22] [23] [24] [25]}

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.^[26]

In May 2021, Kakao VX has started a premium golf driving range business using Kakao Friends characters.^[27]

In 2018, Kakao has released Kakao Little Friends Phone, a smartphone dedicated to elementary school students that has enhanced protection for their children.^[28] Kakao Little Friends Phone was released up to version 4 by 2021.^[29]

Controversy

Kakao series

After seeing the structure in which Daum Kakao owns all the copyrights of Kakao Friends, the character illustrators do not receive profits from the sale of Kakao Friends character products, some criticized whether it was the second Cloud Bread incident. However, the Daum Kakao official said that Daum Kakao had all the copyrights at the time of the first contract with the HOZO writer. Although the Kakao Talk emoticon revenue is shared, the Kakao Friends business does not pay a separate fee to the artist. The author also stated that he is in a position to avoid controversy about this issue.^[30]

Niniz series

It has been embroiled in controversy that it promotes violence and cruelty on social media.^[31] The fact that the character description of 'Panda', whose last name is 'only one', contains the phrase, "The goal is to dry out all the polar bears," and Cobb & Panya, introduced as a detective duo, "has a stalker temperament and likes to follow. ", etc. has been raised. People criticized it, pointing out that the main users of the character were minors.^[32]

See also

• Line Friends

Notes and References

1. News: Kakao Friends gets new name Kakao IX after takeover . 27 November 2020 . . 18 July 2018.
2. News: 카카오톡 캐릭터 디자이너를 만나다. 2017-05-30. ko.
3. News: Kakao Friends become most beloved characters in Korea. 2017-04-19. The Korea Herald News. 2017-11-08. en.
4. News: 카톡 이모티콘 '노란 토끼'가 단무지라고?…카카오 프렌즈 뒷이야기. 2017-05-30. ko.
5. News: Pictures speak louder than words. 2016-05-27. The Korea Herald News. 2017-11-08. en.
6. Web site: Which Kakao friend are you?. September 27, 2014. The Manila Times. en-US. 2017-11-08.
7. Web site: 2013-10-24. 카톡 이모티콘 '노란 토끼'가 단무지라고?…카카오 프렌즈 뒷이야기. 2021-04-04. biz.khan.co.kr. ko.
8. Web site: 2021-04-02. 카카오프렌즈 캐릭터, 어피치가 주인공인 숏폼 애니매이션 나와. 2021-04-11. The Hankyoreh. ko.
9. Web site: 카카오, 캐릭터IP 활용한 숏폼 콘텐츠 '피치파이브' 공개. April 2, 2021 .
10. Web site: 카카오프렌즈 '어피치', 피치파이브로 글로벌 MZ 팬심 잡았다. 2021-05-16. 팍스경제TV. ko.
11. Web site: Kakao Friends is all about simpatico characters. 2020-12-15. Korea JoongAng Daily. August 7, 2016 . en.
12. Web site: 2016-05-27. [EYE] Pictures speak louder than words]. 2020-12-15. The Korea Herald. en.
13. Web site: The Kakao Friends Lovable Characters with Life-Sized Personalities. KAKAO FRIENDS ONLINE STORE. 2018-11-05.
14. News: 카카오 '라이언' 디자이너를 만나다. 2016-07-06. brunch. 2017-05-30. ko.
15. Web site: Ryan the yellow lion brings in big bucks. Korea JoongAng Daily. 2017-11-08.
16. Web site: 2020-12-17. 카카오프렌즈, 라이언의 반려묘 '춘식이' 굿즈 첫 출시. 2021-04-04. ChosunBiz. ko.
17. Web site: 2020-10-28. 카카오페이지, 라이언 스토리 '라이언, 더 라이언' 연재. 2021-05-30. Segye Ilbo. ko.
18. News: 카카오프렌즈 새 캐릭터 춘식이!...라이언도 있는데 나만 없어 고양이. ko. 2020-09-11.
19. News: 카카오, 강남에 니니즈 '죠르디' 팝업스토어 오픈. gametoc.hankyung.com.
20. Web site: 이. 해인 . 2017-11-14. 카카오, 동물 모티브 새 캐릭터 '니니즈' 출시 - 머니투데이. 2021-04-15. Money Today. ko.
21. Web site: 식품 프랜차이즈, 캐릭터 활용 마케팅 '봇물'. 무단전재. Ⓒ 종합 경제정보 미디어 이데일리-상업적. 금지. 재배포. 2015-05-11. edaily. 2017-05-30. 2015-09-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924005355/http://www.edaily.co.kr/news/NewsRead.edy?SCD=JC21&newsid=02663366609367936&DCD=A00302&OutLnkChk=Y. dead.
22. News: '프렌즈런'도 Top10 진입… 카카오프렌즈 연타석 홈런. 2016-05-31. The Korea Economic Daily. 2017-05-30. ko. 2016-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20160817110410/http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=201605316100v. dead.
23. Web site: '프렌즈타운' 애플 앱스토어 게임 인기 순위 1위. Maeil Business Newspaper. ko. 2019-05-09.
24. Web site: 우리·하나 '뱅크월렛카카오' 앞선 출시. FNTIMES. 한국금융신문. November 30, 2014 . 2017-05-30.
25. Web site: 다음카카오, 카카오프렌즈 담은 '하나 체크카드' 출시. 100세시대의 동반자 브릿지경제. June 3, 2015 . ko. 2017-05-30.
26. Web site: KAKAO FRIENDS. store.kakaofriends.com. en. 2017-05-30.
27. Web site: 2021-05-03. '라이언 캐디' 떴다…카카오 골프연습장 사업 진출. 2021-05-16. 매일경제. ko.
28. Web site: Han. Jinju. 2018-02-22. 카카오 자회사 핀플레이, '카카오키즈폰' 출시. 2021-06-06. 아시아경제. ko.
29. Web site: Lee. Chang-gyu. 2021-01-07. LGU+, 자녀 보호기능 강화한 'U+카카오리틀프렌즈폰4' 출시. 2021-06-06. 뉴스1. ko.
30. News: Kim. Ji-sun(김지성). 2015-06-11. 매출 대박난 '카톡캐릭터'… 원작자 몫은 얼마?. 'KakaoTalk Characters' with huge sales... How much is the original author's share?. Digital Times.
31. News: Lee. Ji-min(이지민). 2017-11-21. [모이] 카카오톡 니니즈가 귀엽다고요?]. [Moi] KakaoTalk Niniz is cute?. OhmyNews.
32. News: Park. Hong-du(박홍두). 2017-11-19. [지금 SNS에선]카카오 새 캐릭터 논란]. [On SNS now] Kakao's new character controversy. Kyung-hyang News.