The pink fairy, Heartsping, has achieved what even Pororo and Hello Carbot, one of the most popular characters in South Korea, couldn’t—surpassing the 1 million audience milestone for K-Animation.
On Sept. 18, the Korean animation Heartsping: Teenieping of Love crossed 1.05 million viewers, making it the second-highest grossing K-Animation in history.
Previously on Sept. 16, the animation broke through the 1 million mark with 1,001,219 viewers, becoming the first Korean animation to do so in 12 years. Prior to Heartsping, the only other K-Animations to surpass 1 million viewers were Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (2.2 million, 2011) and Speckles: The Tarbosaurus 3D (1.04 million, 2012).
The success of Heartsping: Teenieping of Love, which premiered on Aug. 7, is attributed to SAMG Entertainment’s strategy to create a film that appeals to all generations.
Heartsping, first introduced in the Catch! Teenieping TV series in 2020, is the main character, and this film marks the first feature-length movie in the Teenieping series. Teeniepings are magical sprites that represent an emotion or concept and each have a unique power.
Kim Soo-hoon, CEO of SAMG and often referred to as the ‘creator of Heartsping’, mentioned in an interview that the biggest challenge was choosing a theme that adults could relate to. The answer was ‘first love’.
Kim explained, “We believed that the pure feeling of loving someone unconditionally, without any specific reason, would resonate with everyone.” In the film, the protagonist, Princess Romi, immediately falls for Heartsping at first sight and bravely jumps into a burning forest to save her. Initially hesitant, Heartsping is touched by her courage, and they become friends.
Also, a lot of thought went into the original character designs, with particular focus on the eyes. Kim revealed, “We drew countless versions before finalizing Heartsping’s eyes, as the position and size on the face greatly affected how emotions were conveyed.”
Many attributes of the character design, particularly the eyes, contributed to the film’s success. Viewer reviews on CGV included comments like, ‘Two adults walked in and came out crying,’ ‘This turned me into a sobbing 30-something,’ and ‘Even as a high schooler, I found it really enjoyable.’”
Heartsping was also released in China on Sept. 15, with official toys set to launch in Japan next month, and the film is scheduled to debut in North America next year. Kim shared, “We aim to nurture Heartsping to become a key player in revitalizing K-Animation on the global stage.”
