Emoticon writer Yu-ang has released more than 20 emoticons over the past four years, but has not escaped obscurity. He, who majored in design, said, "I drew emoticons because I couldn't get a job after graduation," but there were many months when my monthly income did not exceed 1 million won.
After the release of the "Broken Bear" (Manggom) series in April 2021, wandering became a "star writer." Immediately after its release, it was ranked in the 10s and 20s. The outline, which seems to have been drawn roughly, hit those who like "nothing." Manggom was selected as one of the eight emoticons that captivated users in 2022. Last year, Yu-rang conducted a series of cartoons featuring Manggom, launched character products, and collaborated with fashion brands. Imports also increased. He said, "I am willing to send my parents on a trip once or twice a year."
According to Kakao Talk on the 2nd, the total number of accumulated individual emotion expression emoticons released since the first emojis were introduced in November 2011 until the end of last year was 500,000. 200,000 of them, or 40% of them, were released last year. There are 11 "super jackpot" emoticons with cumulative sales of more than 10 billion won, and 116 "big jackpot" emoticons with sales of more than 1 billion won. An average of 30 million people use emoticons per month, and the average daily use is 60 million. A cumulative 27 million people have bought emoticons for money. The Kakao Talk emoticon market has grown steeply, creating wandering "star writers." The number of writers who make emoticons for their main and side jobs has also increased to 10,000.
Emoticons are a medium for conversation, so characters that melt well into the context succeed. This is why Marvel Studio's heroes and Japanese animation characters, which have global popularity and recognition, are not very successful in the Kakaotalk emoticon market. It is also important how a set of emoticons (24 pictures) is organized. While the emoticon that teenagers and people in their 40s express the most is "cry," people in their 50s use a lot of emotions that express happiness and weather.
After Kakao launched the Emoticons Studio in 2017 where anyone can freely propose emoticons, a job called Emoticons Writer has been created. Currently, there are about 10,000 emoticon writers active in Korea, with the youngest being 12 years old and the oldest being 83 years old.
The emoticon market is quickly shunned when it lags behind the changing trend. In the past, "well-made" emoticons with prominent characteristics enjoyed popularity, and later emoticons with three-dimensional effects such as white colors and round chunks were popular. Recently, characters such as "Manggom" that can feel cuteness and insignificance together have become a trend.
Competition has intensified since Emoji Plus, which allows unlimited use of emoticons, was released in 2021. Previously, when consumers purchase emoticons with 2,500 won, 700 won to 750 won per case is distributed to artists. On the other hand, this is because emoticon Plus is settled based on the share of the total usage of users.
댓글