- Pororo is the best. They call it Pororo the President. Children do its dance and sing the song. The character is very appealing.
- My child mimics its dance and songs. He’s not a very active child, but whenever he hears the music, he moves to it. It’s important that my child feels that Pororo is his friend. He’s not very talkative yet, but I hope he feels inclined to talk more as he sees Pororo more often. My children had a great time with Pororo.

In Korea Pororo the Little Penguin is hot, hot, hot. The little blue penguin with a pair of yellow glasses has the power to make crying children laugh, wayward children behave, finicky children stop picking at their food, and distracted children focus. Children sing when Pororo asks them to sing along.

Children listen when Pororo talks. Even the most unruly, stubborn child follows Pororo’s words. To children Pororo is king. The little penguin is so beloved that it is heralded as the best animation character in Korean history for both children and adults, and is on its way to become a global star.

The Seoul Business Agency says the potential value of Pororo amounts to 389.3 billion won, more than 335.3 million U.S. dollars. That is almost equal the value of Japan’s Hello Kitty at 344.5 million dollars or Disney’s Winnie the Pooh at 292.8 million dollars. Created eight years ago, Pororo’s TV show is currently on air in 110 countries and roughly 1,500 different Pororo-based items have been merchandised, hauling in two trillion won in sales and growing at an annual rate of 30 to 40%. Its popularity has charmed children all over the world. How did such an endearing character come about? Here’s Ocon CEO Kim Il-ho to explain more.



When deciding on a character for children, we look at about six animals, mainly the dinosaur, bear, mouse, and rabbit. Penguin is also one of them. But what’s important is not just basing the character on a penguin, but making that character child-friendly.

Character developers at Ocon chose a penguin as the main character in a children’s animation show, because the penguin resembled children. But Pororo is no ordinary penguin. It sports a pilot’s helmet and a pair of aviator goggles. Here’s Ocon CEO Kim Il-ho again.

There were already so many popular penguin-based characters in all parts of the world. So we needed to differentiate our penguin from all the others. We did a number of sketches. At an artists’ meeting we decided to give him a job and our artists suggested so many different jobs – we had a traveler penguin, a hunter penguin, a firefighter, and even a ninja penguin. But we thought a pilot penguin represented children’s dreams, a penguin’s dream of wanting to fly. So we gave him a pair of goggles and a helmet to represent that dream. We thought that appearance distinguished our penguin and decided to go with it.

A flightless bird was given a dream of flight. That impossible dream gave life to Pororo and endeared the character to countless children, who were also reaching for their seemingly distant dreams. The name “Pororo” came from the Korean word “Joruru” describing the way children take quick little steps. The “P” in Pororo, of course, came from the “p” in “penguin.” In the show Pororo is a brave little penguin, who does not shy away from any challenges, and strives to achieve his dream of flying high in the sky.

Pororo makes many attempts to fly, but fails every time. But that does not stop Pororo from trying again and again, and his friends are right by his side to cheer him on. His loyal friends – Eddy, Crong, Poby, Loopy, Harry, and the rest of the gang – are an indispensable part of the show and give a variety of dimensions to Pororo.



Pororo and his friends represent different types of children. Just as each child is unique, each of these animation characters has its own personalities and aspirations. Children want to be many different things – an adventurer, a chef, or a supermarket owner – and our characters demonstrate their diversity. For instance, Eddy is a smart scientist, but he often makes mistakes and his experiments fail. Still that doesn’t deter him from creating something for his friends. Loopy is a shy and sensitive cook who likes to bake cookies and plan parties for the gang. Crong is Pororo’s adopted younger brother, a pesky but lovable sibling everyone can relate to. Pororo and his group show the emotions and lives of little children.

Poby the polar bear is the most loyal and dependable one among the group and Eddy the red fox is a genius scientist. Loopy the pink otter is a thoughtful cook and Harry the hummingbird is tone deaf but loves to entertain his friends. Petty the penguin is stylish and Crong the baby dinosaur is the typical little brother. These characters are just like the friends and family Korean children see every day in their lives. Perhaps such familiarity and easy identification are what made the show so wildly popular. Pororo and his friends have soared to stardom since its debut in 2003.

The first animation was just a five-minute segment based on an ordinary happening. It didn’t have a super hero like in many blockbuster animation films, but children fell in love with the characters that resembled themselves. And the popularity wasn’t confined to Korean children. Here’s Ocon CEO Kim Il-ho again.

Major broadcasting stations already air highly popular animation shows. Disney and Britain’s BBC broadcast a number of children’s programs that have global audiences. But our show is not that far behind in terms of worldwide ratings and popularity. The show is quite well received in Europe. I remember that the show was aired in France for the first time in 2004. The audience response became explosive one year after the debut, posting 51.7% in ratings on the French channel TF1. That was a record-breaking figure for a children’s program.

Now children all over the world idolize Pororo. What is it about Pororo that captivated their heart?



First of all, Pororo shows fun in mundane things. It’s important for the show to include things that can happen to you and me. Secondly, the show has to be easy. The dialogues and the story must be easy for children to understand. Third, the series is slow. It waits until children understand what the show is trying to convey. Pororo never tries to teach things directly. It never comes out and says “1 plus 1 is 2” or “don’t fight with your friends.” Instead, the program shows, for instance, Pororo breaking a tower that Crong built and, after much hesitation, admitting one’s mistake and apologizing to someone younger. This is how Pororo teaches children to make amends.

Moreover, Pororo is creative. It shows how to think outside of the box. Let’s take a look at the episode “I Want to Fly.” Poby the polar bear takes Pororo, who wants to fly, out to the edge of the cliff. Below them is the roaring sea and Poby tells Pororo to jump.

I want children to think creatively. In one episode Pororo even attempted to jump off the roof to learn to fly. But with the help from Poby, Pororo learns to fly in the sea. The episode showed that flying is done not only in the sky, but also in the water. This episode was indirectly educational, because it made children think outside of the box and see things from a different perspective.

Pororo the Little Penguin is in its ninth year of broadcast and three Pororo theme parks opened last year in Seoul and surrounding suburbs. There is a reason why Pororo Parks are located in urban centers.

Pororo Parks are not an amusement park where children go once or twice a year. They are educational parks with easy accessibility. Amusement parks located outside of the city are hard for children and their parents to get to. Also, there aren’t that many rides that little children can enjoy in such parks. But Pororo Parks are easy to get to, since they are within a mall or a department store. Parents can bring their children for a couple of hours and do some shopping, too. And it’s not just fun in our parks. It’s a place of learning where children can experience a wide range of situations.

Each park sees nearly three thousand visitors daily even though the park imposes a two-hour time limit. There can be no dispute that it is children’s favorite place. Here’s park manager Heo Yun-se in charge of Pororo Park in Seoul’s D-Cube City.



As soon as visitors enter the theme park, they see a house designed to look like the land where Pororo and his friends live. Guests are greeted there by Pororo, Crong, Eddy, Petty, and all the favorite characters from the series. To the left is a ball pool and a little further in is a concert hall where Pororo and the gang hold a musical performance. There is also Loopy’s House where children can take part in creative cooking and art programs. Another attraction of Pororo Park is the train, which takes children to their favorite scenes from the show.

Children cook up a storm in Loopy’s House and ride a train designed by Eddy the scientist.
The indoor park fills with the tickling sound of children’s laughter emanating from the ball pool. Watching their children have such wholesome fun makes the time worthwhile for adults as well.

- Pororo is mischievous, but understands children so well. Eddy is smart, and Poby is like a good-hearted big brother. Loopy is a good cook and acts like a big sister, and Harry likes to sing. Crong is the youngest, and also the cutest. All these characters have distinct personalities and reflect children’s differences well.
- Children love the train and the slide. All these physical activities are good for children. They are also curious about the Pororo House, which looks like it came straight out of the show.

Pororo is not a super hero. He’s a little penguin that is prone to mistakes just like you and me. Pororo has been featured in last year’s Christmas seals, the sales of which went through the roof, once again proving the popularity of children’s president, Pororo. The locally designed character has also taken first place in a Korean consumer survey on characters and a character brand value assessment. It has also earned 12 billion won or over 10.3 million dollars in 2010 in royalty and created a market worth 250 billion won or more than 215 million dollars. There can be no dispute that Pororo is the most popular and lucrative character created right here in Korea. Even today Pororo is working as a hallyu representative and delivering dreams and hopes to children all over the world.