Pororo saves Korean parents in US
Published on | Source
By Jane Han
NEW YORK — For a mom with three kids, even the simplest grocery trip can seem like a monumental challenge. Angie Kim should know because it's a routine she can't complete these days without the help of the one and only "Pororo the Little Penguin".
The cartoon helps in a ridiculously simple way: She seats her two girls and boy in the car and hands them her iPhone with at least a dozen episodes queued up. With that, there's no crying and fighting, but simply uninterrupted peace for the entire car ride.
"It's like magic. I honestly don't know what I would've done without Pororo", says Kim, a Korean-American mom who was first introduced to the Korean cartoon two years ago. "What can I say? My kids are hooked on the little penguin".
Since debuting in 2003, the blue 3D roly poly has become wildly popular among children in Korea — so popular that it is now dubbed "Potongryeong", a combination of the words Pororo and "daetongryeong", or president in Korean.
For Korean moms and dads in the U.S., Pororo is more than that.
"Forget Sesame Street and Scooby Doo", says Lee Ji-eun, a mother of two preschoolers. "Pororo is a perfect package. It's short, fun and, most of all, it even teaches my kids Korean".
An English version of the animation is available, but many parents prefer the original to help teach Korean to their children.
"I'm amazed at how quickly my children pick up words from the cartoon", said David Sohn, a Korean-American father who isn't fluent in Korean. "It seems more reasonable to show a few episodes a day, instead of sitting down and struggling to teach the language".
The character's popularity is evident, based on the strong sales of Pororo-branded goods.
He's everywhere. From rice bowls to floor mats, Pororo can be easily found on all kinds of products flown in from Korea.
Korean retailers say certain items including books and toys are sold out with orders backed up.
"It has been nearly 10 years since Pororo came out, but its popularity isn't fading at all", says Hwang Jung-hoon, manager at Home&Home, a home goods store in New York.
Stores say they've increased the selection and volume of Pororo-based products by 20 to 30 percent after the character recently got more spotlight from the media.
Last month, one parent wrote a plea on an Internet portal site asking the creators of the cartoon to include more scenes in the animation that show Pororo eating Korean food, instead of cakes and cookies.
Thousands of other parents soon joined in, saying their children only want to eat the food Pororo eats.
뽀로로, 미국의 한국부모들을 구하다.
뉴욕 세 아이의 엄마에겐 간단한 식료품 쇼핑마저도 기념비적 도전으로 다가온다. "작은 펭귄 뽀로로"의 도움없이는 생활의 "과업"들을 달성하지 못하는 앤지 김씨도 마찬가지이다.
애니메이션 뽀로로는 우습게도 간단한 도움을 제공해준다. 김씨는 두 딸과 아들을 차에 앉히고 열 개 이상의 에피소드가 들어있는 아이폰을 건네준다. 그것과 함께 울고 불고하던 아이들은 온데간데 없고 차에는 조용한 평화가 찾아온다.
한국 애니매이션 뽀로로를 2년전 알게 된 한국계 미국인 엄마 김씨는 "마법 같아요. 뽀뽀로 없이 어떻게 모든 걸 해나갔을지 상상이 안가요" 라며 "무슨말이 필요하겠어요? 아이들은 저 작은 펭귄이라면 사족을 못써요"라고 말했다.
2003년 데뷔한 이후 파란색의 3D 통통한 캐릭터는 한국 어린이들의 사랑을 독차지해왔다. 인기가 너무 큰 나머지 "뽀통령" (뽀로로와 대통령의 조합어)이라는 별명마저 얻었다.
미국에 있는 한국인 부모에게 뽀로로는 아이들에게 한국어를 가르칠 수 있는 도구로써도 사랑 받고 있다.
NEW YORK — For a mom with three kids, even the simplest grocery trip can seem like a monumental challenge. Angie Kim should know because it's a routine she can't complete these days without the help of the one and only "Pororo the Little Penguin".
The cartoon helps in a ridiculously simple way: She seats her two girls and boy in the car and hands them her iPhone with at least a dozen episodes queued up. With that, there's no crying and fighting, but simply uninterrupted peace for the entire car ride.
"It's like magic. I honestly don't know what I would've done without Pororo", says Kim, a Korean-American mom who was first introduced to the Korean cartoon two years ago. "What can I say? My kids are hooked on the little penguin".
Since debuting in 2003, the blue 3D roly poly has become wildly popular among children in Korea — so popular that it is now dubbed "Potongryeong", a combination of the words Pororo and "daetongryeong", or president in Korean.
For Korean moms and dads in the U.S., Pororo is more than that.
"Forget Sesame Street and Scooby Doo", says Lee Ji-eun, a mother of two preschoolers. "Pororo is a perfect package. It's short, fun and, most of all, it even teaches my kids Korean".
An English version of the animation is available, but many parents prefer the original to help teach Korean to their children.
"I'm amazed at how quickly my children pick up words from the cartoon", said David Sohn, a Korean-American father who isn't fluent in Korean. "It seems more reasonable to show a few episodes a day, instead of sitting down and struggling to teach the language".
The character's popularity is evident, based on the strong sales of Pororo-branded goods.
He's everywhere. From rice bowls to floor mats, Pororo can be easily found on all kinds of products flown in from Korea.
Korean retailers say certain items including books and toys are sold out with orders backed up.
"It has been nearly 10 years since Pororo came out, but its popularity isn't fading at all", says Hwang Jung-hoon, manager at Home&Home, a home goods store in New York.
Stores say they've increased the selection and volume of Pororo-based products by 20 to 30 percent after the character recently got more spotlight from the media.
Last month, one parent wrote a plea on an Internet portal site asking the creators of the cartoon to include more scenes in the animation that show Pororo eating Korean food, instead of cakes and cookies.
Thousands of other parents soon joined in, saying their children only want to eat the food Pororo eats.
뽀로로, 미국의 한국부모들을 구하다.
뉴욕 세 아이의 엄마에겐 간단한 식료품 쇼핑마저도 기념비적 도전으로 다가온다. "작은 펭귄 뽀로로"의 도움없이는 생활의 "과업"들을 달성하지 못하는 앤지 김씨도 마찬가지이다.
애니메이션 뽀로로는 우습게도 간단한 도움을 제공해준다. 김씨는 두 딸과 아들을 차에 앉히고 열 개 이상의 에피소드가 들어있는 아이폰을 건네준다. 그것과 함께 울고 불고하던 아이들은 온데간데 없고 차에는 조용한 평화가 찾아온다.
한국 애니매이션 뽀로로를 2년전 알게 된 한국계 미국인 엄마 김씨는 "마법 같아요. 뽀뽀로 없이 어떻게 모든 걸 해나갔을지 상상이 안가요" 라며 "무슨말이 필요하겠어요? 아이들은 저 작은 펭귄이라면 사족을 못써요"라고 말했다.
2003년 데뷔한 이후 파란색의 3D 통통한 캐릭터는 한국 어린이들의 사랑을 독차지해왔다. 인기가 너무 큰 나머지 "뽀통령" (뽀로로와 대통령의 조합어)이라는 별명마저 얻었다.
미국에 있는 한국인 부모에게 뽀로로는 아이들에게 한국어를 가르칠 수 있는 도구로써도 사랑 받고 있다.
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