[Numbers in the News] Domestic Anime Surpasses 1 Million in 12 Years... 'Sarang-ui Hachuping'

The animation 'Love's Hachuping' surpassed 1 million viewers, ranking among the top 3 highest-grossing Korean animations of all time.

According to the Korea Film Council's integrated box office data on the 19th, 'Love's Hachuping' attracted 32,769 viewers on the last day of the Chuseok holiday, the 18th, securing 2nd place at the box office behind 'Veteran 2'. The cumulative audience reached 1,067,332.

Among Korean animations, only 'Leafie, A Hen into the Wild' (2011, cumulative audience 2,204,870) and 'The Dino King 3D' (2012, 1,051,710 viewers) had previously surpassed 1 million viewers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After 'The Dino King 3D', domestic animations such as 'Pororo the Movie: Super Sled Adventure' (2013, 929,985 viewers), 'Shinbi Apartment the Movie: Sky Goblin vs. Jormungandr' (2019, 893,221 viewers), 'Hello Carbot the Movie: Cretaceous Era' (2018, 879,449 viewers), 'Pororo the Movie: Dinosaur Island Adventure' (2017, 827,021 viewers), and 'Red Shoes' (2019, 817,729 viewers) enjoyed great popularity but did not break the 1 million viewer mark.

'Love's Hachuping' received praise for moving not only children but also parents watching with them, becoming the third Korean animation to surpass 1 million viewers. This is a record achieved 12 years after 'The Dino King 3D'.

'Love's Hachuping' is the first theatrical film of the TV animation series 'Catch! Tinyping', depicting the first meeting between the main characters Romi and Hachuping.

The Tinyping series, which began with 'Catch! Tinyping' in 2020, includes season 2 'Sparkling Catch! Tinyping', season 3 'Mysterious Catch! Tinyping', and season 4 'Sweet and Sour Catch! Tinyping', with season 5 'Shooting Star Catch! Tinyping' scheduled to air next month.

'Catch! Tinyping' follows Princess Romi of the Emotion Kingdom as she searches for the scattered heart fairies called 'Tinypings' on Earth, with new characters appearing each time.

With a total of 107 Tinyping characters appearing from seasons 1 to 4 and the considerable prices of related merchandise, some parents with young children have expressed frustration, calling it 'Bankruptping'.