The Korean animated TV show “Catch! Teenieping” has been gaining popularity among not only young viewers but also the older generation with its lovely character “Heartsping.”
Heartsping, the pink fairy of love, is achieving even more popularity than Pororo and Hello Carbot—two of the most popular characters in Korea. On Sept. 18, its first movie “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love,” marked a milestone for Korean animation, reaching 1.05 million viewers.
One of the key factors that contributed to the massive success of this animation is the design of its characters, especially Heartsping. The character has become increasingly popular thanks to its large, sparkly pink eyes, which many people find appealing. The appearance of the characters has been compared to famous Korean celebrities such as Winter from the K-pop group aespa, who share similar eye and eyebrow features. The public was first introduced to the Teenieping world when the comparison went viral online. Winter was later selected to collaborate on the movie and sing the theme song.
“I have known Teenieping before as a children’s show because I saw young kids watch it,” Minseo Park (11), a Teenieping fan, said. “When I saw the movie, I thought the plot line was pretty complex to the point where many adults might enjoy it as well. The Teeniepings all have individual personalities and symbols which really builds on the engagement for the viewers. Even more, students can assign different types of teeniepings to themselves, adding to the fun.”
In SIS, students have been frequently discussing Tennieping, categorizing themselves into various groups of more than 100 Teenieping characters based on their subtle differences in vibes and appearances.
“I think the appeal of the show is in the large number of characters,” Haven Cha (11), an animation fan, said. “People in general like collecting things and also like to type themselves based on their personality, which explains why personality tests that type you as a character in the show are so popular online.”
As Teenieping continues to soar in popularity, more adults are diving into the Teenieping universe, trying to bond with their younger family members. Meanwhile, the online community has created a meme that humorously adds “ping” to the end of various words.
