Bigger than BTS? Why South Korea’s millennials fell for Pengsoo the giant penguin

With its unexpectedly husky voice and taboo-breaking behaviour, Pengsoo seems to have struck a chord with a generation of disaffected young Koreans

The children’s character for more mature audiences shot to stardom on the back of ‘off-the-wall’ TV appearances and its own YouTube channel

Reading Time:3 minutes

Published: 7:00pm, 10 Dec 2019Updated: 11:01am, 11 Dec 2019

A penguin character that speaks with a husky male voice and seems unconcerned by South Korean social norms has become more popular than K-pop group BTS, according to a recent survey.

Pengsoo, a 2.1 metre-tall penguin with an expressionless face and blank, staring eyes was named “Person of the Year” – despite not actually being a person. It beat popular stars like BTS in a poll of 2,333 adults conducted by Korean recruitment website Incruit at the end of November.

Pengsoo, which emerged just years after South Korean educational brand Pinkfong’s Baby Shark song went viral, shot to stardom this year on the back of wacky television and radio appearances, as well as its very own YouTube channel, Giant Peng TV, which now boasts more than 1.27 million subscribers – up from just 10,000 in June.

The character has even appeared in promotional videos for South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was last month filmed shaking hands with the country’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.

Pengsoo with South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. Photo: YouTube / Giant Peng TV

According to South Korea’s Educational Broadcasting System – which created Pengsoo and another penguin character named Pororo – the giant penguin from the South Pole wants to become a global star like BTS.

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