Apart from the “traditional” merchandise, many companies now offer caricature products designed by the idols themselves (and then modified by external designers) that uniquely echo their characteristics or personality traits. These adorable characters even come alive in the YouTube videos and have their storyline. The endearing little figures resemble our favorite idols and have an alternative charm that can melt our hearts. Let’s take a look at the following characters designed by the idols! Their cuteness will make you grin.
1. BTS - BT21
BT21 is the first collaborative project between K-Pop artists and Line Friends. BTS members first drafted the prototype, and the Line Friends designers modified the original design. The BT21 characters were born in 2017, while the name BT21 stands for BT21 X 21st Century. BT21 sets in an adventure about seven characters who want to become worldwide superstars, and their guardian—the grey and white robot VAN (also symbolizing ARMY). The blue koala “KOYA” has removable ears, representing RM. Jin’s character is “RJ”, an alpaca who always wears a parka. The tiny cookie “SHOOKY” that hates milk the most is Suga’s character. J-Hope’s character is “MANG”, a dancing pony with a heart-shaped nose. “CHIMMY” is a puppy that always wears a yellow hoodie, representing JiMin. “TATA” is an alien created by V. It has a heart-shaped head and a super stretchable body. “COOKY” is a pink bunny who is passionate about fitness, designed by JungKook.
2. Stray Kids - SKZOO
SKZOO is a project of Stray Kids, where each member has a cartoon avatar to represent them. The SKZOO characters even have their version of the ‘God’s Menu’ music video, which is posted on the official YouTube channel of Stray Kids. The origin of SKZOO was said to be based on jokes among fans about the members’ resemblance to certain animals. Bang Chan as the grey wolf ‘Wolf Chan’. Lee Know is the white rabbit “Leebit”. ChangBin’s character is a “DWAEKKI” (a hybrid of pig and rabbit). HyunJin as the white ferret “Jinriet”. Han’s character is a quokka named “HAN QUOKKA”. The yellow chick “BbokAri” represents Felix. SeungMin is a beige puppy, named “PuppyM”. The desert fox “Foxl.Ny” represents I.N.
3. ASTRO - ROROHA
ROROHA is a series of characters from ASTRO. These cartoon avatars first appeared in Japan as plush dolls and mascots in the ASTRO X ROROHA pop-up store. “KOOKOO” represents MJ. The pink piglet has three lucky seven symbols on its belly. JinJin’s character is “DDUDDU” the puppy, who wears a hat with a paw pattern. The blue bunny with gleaming eyes is called “NOONNOO”, representing Cha EunWoo. MoonBin’s cartoon avatar is “NYANNYA”, a cat with heart-shaped patterns on its cheek. Rocky’s ROROHA is a cute gray wolf named “WOOAH” with AROHA (ASTRO’s fandom name) on his belly. The yellow chicken “PPUPPU” wearing the captain’s hat is maknae Yoon SanHa’s ROROHA.
4. DAY6 - DENIMALZ
DENIMALZ is a line of plush goods from DAY6, whose name consists of Day (in Korean) from DAY6 and animals (in Korean). Even for non-DAY6 fans, DENIMALZ plush toys remain very popular, not only because the characters have winsome appearances, but also because they often come in different versions and seasons of costumes. The bear named “BANG” represents SungJin. The eyes of the fox “KE” resemble Young K, while the rabbit “PIL” has a quintessence that resembles WonPil. The puppy “DON” is the cartoon avatar of DoWoon. Former member Jae’s character is a chicken named “JJE”. DENIMALZ is occasionally featured in DAY6’s music videos. Don’t forget to check them out on their YouTube channel.
5. TREASURE - TRUZ
TRUZ is a game-based character IP co-created by TREASURE and Line Friends. “Chilli", a purple cat-like figure with blue flames on its head, was created by HyunSuk. “Romy”, the smiling white flower is a cartoon image representing JiHoon. “Yochi” is a miniature prince wearing a crown, created by Yoshi. “Bonbon” is a heart-shaped miniature with heterochromatic pupils, created by JunKyu. Mashiho created “Matetsu”, a puppy wearing a blue hoodie and red headphones. JaeHyuk created “Lawoo”, a lion wearing a red cape. “Hikun” is a blue robot with twinkling eyes, representing Asahi. “Ye-Dee” is a mint-colored forest fairy with rabbit-like ears, representing YeDam. “Som” is a fluffy cloud-like creature with heterochromatic body-color, created by DoYoung. Haruto created “Ruru,” a marshmallow with pink blush on its cheeks and can clone itself indefinitely. JeongWoo created “Woopy”, a cheerful character with red ears and a round blue costume. JungHwan created “Podong”, a yellow egg-like creature with an infinite black hole in its mouth.
6. ITZY - WDZY
WDZY is another collaborative project between Line Friends and the K-Pop artists. This time, the protagonist of the series is ITZY. Through WDZY, each member of ITZY designs and ultimately brings the concept of “lifelong friends” to life. YeJi created “HATT”, which is a hybrid of sweet potato and cat. HATT’s characteristics are enthusiastic and full of confidence. Lia created “LYA”, an aqua sloth with a pink ribbon on its head. LYA is good at listening. “TUK” is a quick-tempered monkey who always wears a purple hoodie, created by RyuJin. “CHUNG-EE” is a blue smiley fox (with the nine-tailed fox as a prototype), representing ChaeRyeong. “CABBIT” is a bunny who likes to wear pink catsuits and is always curious, representing YuNa.
7. NU’EST - SPOONZ
SPOONZ started its collaboration with NU’EST W in 2018. But now it has expanded to all members of NU’EST. Each cartoon character corresponds to a certain member. JR’s character is a turtle named “BT”, who has a white body and mint-colored ears. Ren’s character is a rabbit named “Cindy” who has an aqua blue body but wears a pink romper and has big twinkling eyes. BaekHo’s character is a white tiger named “Diabol”. Aron’s character is a corgi named “Slime”. Lastly, MinHyun’s character is a fox named “Ping”.
8. MONSTA X - TWOTUCKGOM
In cheerful news for MONBEBE, MONSTA X has developed their own cartoon brand “TWOTUCKGOM” consisting of six cuddly little bears, despite their manly charisma. In MONSTA X x TWOTUCKGOM Special V Live (2019), ShowNu introduced “NUNUGOM” as a gray bear that is not only good at dancing but also eating. According to I.M, “DANYGOM” is a mauve bear who can speak sophisticated English. MinHyuk described “MINGGOM” as a pink bear who loves flowers very much. HyungWon mentioned that “ZIZIGOM” is a purple bear that likes to sleep and play games. JooHoney appreciated “HONEYGOM”, the white bear’s voice. KiHyun said that “HAMGOM” is an orange bear who is good at cleaning. Of course, TWOTUCKGOM also includes former member WonHo’s bear “BEBEGOM”, a light yellow bear that eats a lot. After seeing these loving avatars above, we do hope that more K-Pop groups will launch their distinctive characters in the future. Which artist’s character do you like the most? Let us know in the comments!
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