When I Opened the Book, a Frozen Character Popped Out... Woongjin's 'Disney Interactive Reading'

Disney Works like 'Elemental' and 'Frozen' Realized as AR Books... Characters Come to Life
First Edition of 360,000 Copies Sold Out in 3 Weeks
Targeting Overseas Markets Including Taiwan and Japan

Disney characters from the book have come to life. When placing a hand on the book, you can hold hands with the characters and defeat villains together. Woongjin ThinkBig’s augmented reality (AR) book, ‘Disney Interactive Reading,’ has captivated parents by bringing Disney characters from the pages into reality.

Last month, Woongjin ThinkBig collaborated with The Walt Disney Company Korea (Disney Korea) to launch the English version of the AR reading solution 'ARpedia,' called ‘Disney Interactive Reading.’ Even before its release, word of the collaboration with Disney spread, resulting in 220,000 copies sold on the very first day. Within three weeks, the entire initial print run of 360,000 copies was sold out.

Augmented Reality (AR) word game scene from the 'Wreck-It Ralph' series of 'Disney Interactive Reading'.

‘Disney Interactive Reading’ is an English learning book set designed for elementary school students. One set consists of 45 volumes. While it may seem similar to typical English book collections, the explosive interest from parents stems from two key factors: the collaboration with Disney, known for its strict intellectual property (IP) management, and the application of AR features in the books.

The AR feature is applied to 15 of the 45 volumes. These include popular titles in Korea such as ‘Elemental,’ released last year, ‘Frozen,’ and ‘Wreck-It Ralph.’ Using an app developed by Woongjin ThinkBig, when a tablet PC is pointed at the book, the AR function activates.

The AR books provide a highly immersive experience. When opening the book, Disney characters come to life on the screen. Scenes such as Ralph from ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ breaking through walls are animated, and the English dialogue is presented exactly as in the original.

It’s not just about rendering characters in AR. Woongjin ThinkBig has developed interactive activities on its own. For example, in ‘Wreck-It Ralph,’ when a fist model is brought close to the book, an English word game starts on the screen, allowing users to smash the correct word with an AR-rendered fist in response to English quizzes.

The 'Disney Interactive Reading' series 'Wreck-It Ralph' featuring augmented reality (AR) implementation.

Woongjin ThinkBig created unique interactive scenarios for each page of the 15 AR books. Activities vary by page, such as placing a hand over a character to hear their inner thoughts. All these processes were conducted under Disney’s review to ensure the original immersion was enhanced. Developing this took one year.

A Woongjin ThinkBig representative said, “This is the first book released by Disney utilizing AR, and it reflects the original animation artwork, making the immersion very high. There are various functions such as AR coloring and English sentence completion, allowing one book to be read in multiple different ways.”

Woongjin ThinkBig 'Disney Interactive Reading'. (Photo by Woongjin ThinkBig)

Woongjin ThinkBig plans to expand ‘Disney Interactive Reading’ in both domestic and international markets. The book has entered a second production phase, with additional domestic stock expected by April. Currently, it is only available to members of their children’s reading program, Book Club, which combines tablet PCs and physical books, but they plan to market it to non-members as well.

They also plan to expand overseas. Releases are being prepared for overseas regions such as Taiwan and Vietnam, where they hold the rights, and discussions with Disney Korea are ongoing for entry into new countries including Japan and Hong Kong. The response has been particularly positive in the Japanese market, where Disney characters are highly favored.