Kakao Friends

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Kakao Friends are a group of characters based on KakaoTalk emoticons. They first appeared in November 2012. Created by Kakao and designed by Hozo (Kwon Soon-ho). The characters include Ryan the Lion; Choonsik the Cat; Apeach the Peach; Tube the Duck; Con the Crocodile; Muzi the Radish; Frodo the Dog; Neo the Cat; and Jay-G the Mole.

Copyrights are now owned by Kakao IX (after a 2018 reorganization). Hozo is the illustrator. Kakao Friends appear in many products and ads in South Korea and are very popular there. They were developed about two months after a July 2012 idea meeting. Products range from foods and games to home goods and finance. Pop-up stores began in Sinchon in 2014, later expanding to Daegu, Busan, and other cities, with some stores becoming regular shops.

Kakao Friends also partner with other companies. In 2021 Kakao VX started a premium golf driving range using Kakao Friends characters. In 2018 Kakao released Kakao Little Friends Phone, a kid-friendly smartphone, with updates up to version 4 by 2021.

There has been controversy. Some say illustrators do not receive profits from product sales, while Kakao says Daum Kakao owned the copyrights at the time of the first contract with Hozo. Emoticon revenue is shared, but the main Kakao Friends business does not pay a separate fee to the artist. Some Bios have been criticized for depicting violence or stalking, which concerns many who know that kids are major users.