Chiikawa, the Japanese Character, Gaining Huge Popularity in Korea?

Looking like a bear and a hamster at the same time, this character is Chiikawa. It's said that the character from a manga serialized by a Japanese artist on X (formerly Twitter) is enjoying immense popularity in Korea.

Chiikawa is a character from the manga "Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu" (Something Small and Cute) created by Japanese illustrator Nagano. It is characterized by its white, round appearance.

Starting from a doodle posted on Nagano's SNS, the character gained popularity, leading to the publication of a collected volume and an animated adaptation. The animation airs every Tuesday and Friday at 7:40 AM on "Mezamashi Terebi," one of Japan's morning information programs.

Besides the protagonist Chiikawa, other characters appearing in the manga, such as Hachiware and Usagi, are also widely loved. With Chiikawa's rising popularity in Korea, various offline events have been held, including the sale of goods at convenience stores and pop-up stores.

The Chiikawa pop-up store, where you can find official Chiikawa merchandise, was held for two consecutive years, in 2022 and 2023, at major shopping malls such as AK Plaza in Hongdae and Hyundai Department Store in Sinchon, Seoul. In Sinchon, a "Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu Collaboration Cafe" was open for about two months. At the collaboration cafe, you could enjoy drinks served in Chiikawa-themed cups and desserts shaped like Chiikawa characters. Apparently, the cups the drinks were served in could be purchased separately. Also, if you posted a cafe visit certification post on SNS, you were given a photo card.

The Chiikawa character has also been released as an emoticon that can be used on KakaoTalk, the most widely used messenger app in Korea. Artist Nagano has released a total of seven series of Chiikawa emoticons on KakaoTalk.

CU, a Korean convenience store chain, also sells Chiikawa goods. Since the goods are much cheaper than those sold at pop-up stores and are easily accessible at convenience stores, many people buy goods from convenience stores. It is said to be particularly popular among women in their teens and twenties. Among them, the griptok (smarttok) that can be attached to the back of a phone has a random design from 20 different options, so some people have been reselling it at a high price in the secondary market to get the design they want.

In Korea, another character drawn by the same artist, "Joke Bear," also gained popularity. Although it has a simpler and more insignificant appearance than Chiikawa, this aspect has become a charm of the character, and its appearance, as if representing modern people living busy lives, has been loved by many. The "Joke Bear" character has also collaborated with the Korean clothing brand SPAO to release clothing and pajamas.

The Chiikawa animation is available for free viewing on the Mezamashi official YouTube channel for a week after its broadcast on Mezamashi Terebi in Japan. The Korean-dubbed version can be watched in its entirety on the Anibox YouTube channel.