About Zanmang Loopy

A Korean animation character has become a popular K-culture star in China. It is unusual that a character, who’s neither an idol from a major entertainment firm nor an actress playing the lead role in a popular drama or movie, is gaining great popularity.

Cute pink beaver character, Zanmang Loopy has become a favorite among China’s MZ generation (those born between 1980 and 2000). Zanmang Loopy was originally a character in the animation Pororo the Little Penguin and is a friend of the main character Pororo.

In South Korea, a wickedly modified version of Luffy’s face went viral as a meme on the internet, and has since become a popular character in Korean messaging app KakaoTalk

However, Chinese online users also enthusiastically react to Loopy’s nagging evilness. This is because the character, who seems to be mild-mannered in the front but holds back harsh words in the back, represents the feelings of office workers.

Zanmang Loopy is said to be especially popular with China’s post-90 generation and those born after 2000. On May 4 last year, Zanmang Loopy opened its first official account in Chinese social media Xiaohongshu, and within seven months, it had more than 4.4 million followers. Zanmang Loopy emoji also ranks high on Chinese messaging app

Chinese companies are also jumping on board with the character. The popular milk tea brand Heytea partnered with Zanmang Loopy for a Christmas drink collaboration. Heytea is the No. 2 brand in China behind Starbucks with an 8.8 percent market share as of 2020. It has also released collaborative products with another milk tea brand, Lelecha, and a low-cost household goods brand, MINISO.

To capitalize on its popularity, Zanmang Loopy has been running a pop-up store in Shanghai for a limited time since the Dec. 8. 2023. The store sells over 260,000 notebooks and over 100,000 goods, including pendants, keychains, and dolls, but the lines are long and customers are told to expect a 1-2 hour wait.