LAST year I found myself finally giving in to listening to music by a friend’s favourite K-Pop band, Stray Kids, much to her delight.
Initially, I was very, ah I’m too old to hype boy bands, until!!! It took one listen to God’s Menu and Felix belting out, “Cooking like a chef, I’m a 5-star Michelin”, and I jumped into the rabbit hole of bands head first.
Now I can thank BTS, Ateez, Stray Kids and Blackpink for sending me into a whole whirlwind of new music. Not only are the songs very catchy, but translated, the lyrics carry such a deep meaning, a trait I personally often find lacking in Western Music.
Breaking barriers and charts with every single album released, Korean music has garnered fans on an international level. The success has also allowed groups to break into other markets by way of reality shows, and most important merchandise.
By collaborating with brands such as Line Friends, many K-Pop groups have been able to create characters that further established the theme of connecting globally. With animated characters that relate to each band member, these extensions to the band’s identity seem to be a global hit. Here are some of my favourite animated collaborations.
BT21 – Created by BTS
The very first to collaborate with Line Friends, BTS launched BT21 in October 2017. Instead of the usual avatars that carried the likeness of each member, they instead designed their own characters and were involved in the process from inception to launch.
BT21 are the cutest bunch, each with their own signature personality. The character’s most recent collaboration is with the iconic shoe brand Dr Martens. They released a trendy line of military boots and bags with their signature designs in a graffiti-styled print.. (sadly not available in South Africa).
SKZOO – Created by Stray Kids
Inspired by inside jokes between the members of Stray Kids and their fandom, called Stays, Skzoo was officially launched in February 2021 after the band’s release of the song, Gods Menu.
A short teaser had been released in December 2020, and fans were ecstatic. These days members, known for not taking themselves too seriously, are often seen wearing life-sized costumes of the SKZoo characters in special performances of their songs. The characters were designed by the members themselves. The name is a combination of the contraction of Stray Kids, SKZ and Zoo, referring to the animal shape of each character. One would argue that the line was inspired by BTS’s BT21 characters.
Truz – By Treasure
Another Line Friends collaboration comes in the form of Truz, characters designed for the K-Pop group Treasure. The characters were designed by the members on their web series 11th episode, ‘Treasure Studio, Treasure’s very own Characters!’. The name was chosen via a poll on Twitter and then launched in December 2020.
Each member assisted in the design of the characters, and then a year later, their merchandise line went live, selling out within an hour online globally.
WDZY By Itzy
In another collaboration with Line Friend, Itzy set about creating a line of “lifelong friends” through characters they helped design for their band. Available in plushies and stickers, the line carries a very kawaii style of design, which Line Friends is known for, making them super adorable.
Twotuckgom By Monsta X
In collaboration with N.C. Soft, Monsta X has assisted in creating the most adorable teddy bear line that is said to match each member’s personality. Twotuckgum which means “bear with two chins’ adorably represents the unique charm of each member, with them having shared a preview of these bears on their Youtube channel in 2019.
The more conventional character in relation to the rest, these adorable bears have been key to connecting with their fans over their web series.
- There you have it, the most adorable character lines inspired by K-Pop. Which one is your favourite? I’m torn between Wolfchan from SKZoo and RJ from BT21, I mean, they are all so adorable.
Faziela Harris-Davids is an amateur artist, book enthusiast, and lover of all things anime, all while being insanely in love with the outdoors. For the past 3 years, she has spent her time harnessing her creativity through her art and writing, influenced by an intense love for research.
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