K-pop Artists and Their Cartoon Mascots

Many K-pop acts have created cartoon mascots to promote their group and create merchandise to supplement their ongoing group-wide and individual collaborations in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle categories. While this phenomenon has been ongoing since the early 2010s, it has accelerated in the last couple of years. 

Typically, the singers in the group help develop their own characters, which have traits that mirror those of the individuals or reflect their interests. Most often, the characters are animals, with each singer embodying a different species, although that formula can vary. They are often released first in conjunction with the debut of a song or album or the launch of a world tour, and some have extensive backstories that have played out in comic books, animation shorts, digital games, and/or music videos. Several have been developed in conjunction with the LINE telecommunications company and its LINE Friends brand.

Merchandising activity based on these characters tends to follow a standard template. The activities are most often handled by the group’s music label/management company or a licensed fan merchandise partner, with products sold on those organizations’ and the group’s websites, as well as in periodic pop-up shops in Seoul, Tokyo, and other major Asian cities. Products can also sometimes be found on third-party websites targeting Asian consumers or the global diaspora of K-pop fans, as well as physical retail outlets. 

Important product categories tend to lean toward novelties and social expressions and include: plush characters in different sizes, along with outfits; novelty merchandise such as keychains, badges, buttons, magnets, and fans; light bands and light sticks—important items for K-pop fan engagement at concerts and events—and accessories; electronics add-ons including phone cases, device charm straps, mousepads, cable holders, earphones, and earcaps; notebooks, pens, pen toppers, and pencils; scrapbooks, photo binders, and photoframes of various sizes and shapes; backpacks, crossbody bags, laptop bags, pouches, and bag charms; wearables like t-shirts, bandanas, hairbands, scarves, slippers, socks, beanies, and pajamas; trading card sets and stickers; and other assorted items such as hand mirrors, towels, umbrellas, mugs, cereal bowls, and capsule toys for vending machines. 

A sampling of some K-pop boy bands and girl groups and the characters that represent them include: 

• Evnne’s Evnniz. These animal characters were launched in June 2024 in conjunction with the group’s third mini album or EP.

• Zerobaseone’s Zeroni, which debuted in April 2024 in collaboration with LINE Friends. The group consists of nine animals. 

• Ateez’s Aniteez, eight animal characters introduced in January 2024. They are backed by animation shorts and are often featured in adventure themes, assuming the roles of hockey players and pirates, for example.

• Ive’s Minive. These six animal characters, developed with LINE Friends, were introduced in May 2023. 

• (G)I-DLE’s Minidle. Merchandise based on the five animal characters was introduced in 2023, timed to the kick-off of a world tour. 

• Itzy’s Wdzy and Twinzy characters. Twinzy, a group of five cats, rolled out in 2023, replacing Wdzy. The latter brand, created with LINE Friends, was launched in 2020 and retired in 2023 and included five characters that were a mix of animals, some with powers such as teleporting, and foods, including a cat-like sweet potato. 

• Stray Kids’ SKZOO characters, which began licensing in earnest in 2023. The eight animals first came on the scene in 2020 in a video for the song “God’s Menu.” The characters inspired pop-up cafés-and-stores in Korea earlier this year that carried 40 different products, some exclusive, tied to SKZOO as well as Stray Kids and the individual singers. 

• Cravity’s CCrew. The brand debuted in 2020, with the first plush released in January 2022. The characters are mostly animals, with a few others, such as one based on the Korean dish Kimbap, mixed in.

• Twice’s Lovely. These nine humanoid sprites in animal-like costumes with heart-shaped ears were created in 2018, three years after the group’s formation.  Each character took the identity of one of the group members, using their respective names with “-vely” tacked on the end.

• Day6’s Denimalz. The band was formed in 2015, with the animal characters following in 2020. In addition to the standard product array, the Denimalz brand has been part of a limited-edition sunscreen collaboration with K Beauty brand Roundlab. 

• B.A.P.’s Matoki, an early entrant into this space in 2012. In addition to the typical categories, these alien “badass bunnies” are featured in a new mobile action puzzle game. 

Some K-pop-connected characters have extended beyond the typical category and distribution boundaries discussed above. A few have struck a chord outside of Asia and entered into high-profile licensing deals and collaborations with external brand partners. The most notable example is BTS’s BT21 brand. The eight characters, launched in October 2017, were created in collaboration with LINE Friends and have a backstory that brings together earthly residents and aliens that crashed on earth; a robot, heart, and chocolate cookie mingle with several animals. 

The property is at the center of an extensive worldwide licensing program. Just few of the many BT21 products over the years have included the likes of plush from Aurora World; apparel with Hot Topic; limited-edition toiletries from The Crème Shop; inflatables from Gemmy; satin pillowcases from Kitsch; totes, bucket hats, t-shirts, coasters, and the like in collaboration with artist Jade Purple Brown; crochet kits from The Woobles; bikes from Super73; soup from Ottogi; boots from Dr. Martens; and health essentials from Aliquantum. 

With the growing and enduring love of K-pop around the world, it is possible that other groups’ characters will ultimately break out as global licensing success stories along the lines of BT21.