Choi Jaewon, Vice President of SAMG Entertainment, speaks at the Hankyung Jeju Summer Forum on the 17th
"Character consumption culture is becoming part of family culture"
"Growth requires decisive action, now is the right time"
Choi Jaewon, Vice President of SAMG Entertainment, the producer of the popular Korean character "Catch! Tinyping," stated at the "38th Korea Economic Association (Hankyung) CEO Jeju Summer Forum" held at Lotte Hotel Jeju on the 17th that the age range of character consumers is expanding from children to adults, and that the company is taking on the challenge of turning Tinyping and other properties into family brands.
Jae Won Choi, Vice President of SAMG Entertainment, is giving a presentation on "Catch Tinyping: IP Business Expansion Strategy Capturing Adults up to 2030" at the "2025 Hankyung CEO Jeju Summer Forum" held at Lotte Hotel Jeju on the 17th. Photo by Hankyung
As a speaker at the forum, Vice President Choi shared strategies for expanding the IP business of content by broadening the target audience, with Tinyping at the center.
He said, "The character goods market in China is showing an annual growth rate of 100%, and the consumer base for characters is expanding to include adults," adding, "Character consumption is becoming established as part of family culture."
Vice President Choi emphasized that in the United States and Japan, leading characters such as those from Disney and Sanrio target all age groups, while Korean characters are aimed only at children. He explained that, in response, SAMG Entertainment has been working to expand its target audience to all age groups.
He said, "We invested 5 billion won to produce the film 'I Love Hachuping.' Although this was limited compared to Disney or Pixar films, which can cost up to 300 billion won, we aimed to create content with enough emotional resonance for adults as well."
As a result, the film attracted 1.25 million viewers at the box office, setting the record for the second-highest-grossing Korean animated film of all time.
Vice President Choi also emphasized that the collaboration with Hyundai Motor was part of this strategy. "We expanded the target audience of a brand centered on people in their 40s and 50s to include young children," he said. "The 10-minute short animation featuring Hachuping and Kangchongping racing in an IONIQ 5 proved to be more effective than news marketing."
Vice President Choi stressed, "By turning Tinyping into a family brand, we are attempting to transform from a toy company into a goods and distribution company. Growth requires decisive action, and now is exactly the right time."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
