In the magical realm of the Emotions Kingdom, tiny fairies known as Teeniepings escape into the outside world by accident. Princess Romi, tasked with capturing and returning them to their home, embarks on a mission to restore order.
This premise forms the foundation of Catch! Teenieping, a South Korean animated series that debuted in 2020 and quickly became a major hit. Building on its success, the franchise released Heartsping: Teenieping of Love last year, drawing over 1.24 million viewers and securing its place as the second most-watched South Korean animated film in history. The franchise continues to captivate young audiences, with more than 140 collectible characters fueling a widespread craze. Among parents, the phenomenon has even earned the nickname “Bankrupt promoted Teeniepings,” reflecting the financial burden of purchasing Teenieping merchandise.
In a recent interview at SAMG Entertainment’s headquarters in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu district, CEO Kim Su-hoon, 51, said, “Teenieping was designed as a franchise from the outset. Given that animation takes over five years to plan and produce—making failure an expensive risk—we considered everything from character design and toys to global expansion from the start.”
SAMG Entertainment has emerged as a leading South Korean character content company alongside Iconix, the creator of Pororo the Little Penguin, and The Pinkfong Company, known for Baby Shark. While Teenieping has been a breakout success, SAMG Entertainment has consistently produced hit animated series, including Vroom! Vroom! Vroomiz, Metal Cardbot, Wish Cat, and Miniforce, many of which have gained traction in overseas markets. Unlike competitors that rely on one or two flagship characters, SAMG Entertainment has demonstrated an ability to launch multiple successful franchises.
Development on Teenieping began in 2017, initially conceived as a fairy-themed animation targeting girls aged four to nine. At the time, South Korean children’s animation commonly centered on princess protagonists to facilitate audience identification. However, Kim took a different approach, placing multiple fairies at the forefront instead. “Each Teenieping represents a single emotion—Love is ‘Heartsping,’ Courage is ‘Gogoping,’ and so on—so kids can enjoy collecting them,” Kim explained. “Initially, eight out of ten major retailers rejected the idea, insisting that an animation without a princess as the lead character would not succeed.”
While the concept of collectible characters was relatively new in South Korea, it had already proven successful globally with franchises such as Pokémon, My Little Pony, and “Littlest Pet Shop.”
With Teenieping’s rapid success, SAMG Entertainment has expanded beyond animation production. The South Korean animation industry has long struggled with sustainability, as even hit intellectual properties (IP) like “Pororo” and “Baby Shark” often rely on licensing agreements for toys and kids’ cafes, limiting revenue streams to royalties. To address this challenge, SAMG Entertainment took a different approach, forming an in-house toy development team from the outset to align character-driven storytelling with merchandise. The company also established direct distribution channels with major retailers, enabling it to independently produce toys, stage performances, and operate kids’ cafes and its own online store.
“We are now at the starting line of becoming a full-fledged children’s entertainment powerhouse like Disney,” Kim said. “As we move into the latter half of the year, our sales and overall performance will see even greater improvements.”
SAMG Entertainment is also working to expand Teenieping’s target audience beyond young children to include teenagers and young adults. The animated film Heartsping: Teenieping of Love has attracted a growing number of older viewers, prompting the company to explore new collaborations. A recent partnership with SM Entertainment marked a major step in this direction, featuring Teenieping characters in the music video for the agency’s rookie girl group, H1-KEY. The collaboration extends to a range of co-branded merchandise aimed at tapping into the K-pop fandom. “We plan to leverage Teenieping’s IP to create games, webtoons, and content that appeal to a broader age group, bringing in new fans along the way,” Kim said.
Global expansion remains a key focus. SAMG Entertainment has already made inroads in China, where Mini Force and Teenieping have gained popularity. In Japan, Teenieping is airing on children’s channels, driving an increase in merchandise sales. The company is now eyeing further growth in Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Russia, as well as expanding into North America and Europe.
