"Emoticons," "emojis" or "stickers" have become a key part of how we communicate when messaging
friends, family or colleagues.
And since they were first introduced around 10 years ago, South Korea now has a thriving
emoticon industry...
creating jobs and income for designers and programmers.
Our Kim Bo-kyoung has more.
Just an image with some letters on top.
This picture does the job of several words.
Emoticons or emojis as they are known elsewhere have become a necessity during our talks on
messenger programs.
"I mostly use emoticons because they help me express my emotions effectively."
"I always use emoticons when having conversations with people,... especially when I would like
to soften my way of speaking."
"Emoticons have been key to digital communication for over a decade.
They deliver our emotions, nuances and even what we want to say.
But it is more than just that.
Emoticons are creating jobs, intellectual property and even loyal fans,... having become
a huge industry."
Ever since Korea's leading messaging app Kakaotalk introduced emoticons in 2011, the service
and its related industry has grown rapidly.
According to Kakaotalk's data released last year,... 2-hundred-20 billion emoticons were
sent in the first ten years of the service... and more than 3-hundred-thousand emoticons
have been created.
The sales revenue in those ten years was around 580-million US dollars.
But most importantly,... these emoticon services have created jobs and let many artists to
develop their own intellectual property through characters.
Around ten-thousand creators are selling character illustrations on the platform,... and the
creators say they usually get inspiration from their daily lives.
"When I was interested in yoga, I came up with yoga-related emoticons.
And when I was working out at the gym, my trainer asked why there aren't any emoticons
of personal trainers,... so I also made one.
That is how I get ideas from my daily life."
Another creator who was originally a character designer, started making emoticons to make
her character more popular.
Her favorite dessert is custard cream cake,... and that is how she came up with "Shuya".
She also gets her ideas from people around her and from watching cartoons on TV.
"I usually try to see what is trending and take notes of the latest trends,... and adding
to that, I watch cartoons all day long while I do my work to get a reference or an idea."
As creators who have worked for several years on emoticons,... both artists say it is important
to have their own unique identity.
Rather than focusing on animations and complicated movements,... they say the basic concept is
much more important... and the characters need to have their own loyal fans to be successful
as emoticons.
"Of course animations are important,... but whether the emoticon is well-made, funny and
can win people's hearts is the most important."
"The concept of the character should be solid.
Creators can have more fans through cartoons uploaded on social media.
If my character itself is popular, it can sell well when it is introduced as an emoticon
too."
Such emoticons are trending not just in South Korea,... but also in other countries.
Global matching platform Stipop, which connects emoticon sticker creators and app developers,...
has over two-million monthly users, and 90 percent of them are from overseas.
Around five-thousand emoticon creators are listed as artists at Stipop,... and the platform
is working with several well-known social media platforms such as Instagram, Telegram,
and WhatsApp.
Emoticon users from each country have their own preferences and characteristics: stickers
from Korea and other Asian countries are usually cute and use simple and thick black lines
and colors, European and U.S. designs are rather cartoon-like, while users from the
Middle East prefer colorful, vibrant ones.
Among the overflowing number of emoticons,... those made by Korean creators are enjoying
great popularity overseas.
The number of Korean creator-made stickers being downloaded has increased by 27 times
from around 24-thousand in 2018 to 648-thousand in 2021.
"I think stickers created by Korean artists are very unique, aesthetic, and they are functional...
which means users are able to express a lot more through the stickers.
I think the reason behind that is because Korea has been very heavily sticker-using
country for the past almost a decade now and has enabled creators to compete with one another,
following up the fast-changing trends and now they are capable of creating one of the
most usable stickers in the world."
Stickers or emoticons are a form of intellectual property,... that can be turned into all kinds
of merchandise... from stationary to clothes.
The monetization model has further diversified as messaging platforms began purchasing sticker
licenses to have them featured within their application and as brands began using them
as part of their advertising tools.
So what significance does this kind of collaboration have to the artists and also the brand?
"Stickers with brands are used four times more than regular brands especially in the
foreign countries... and also by helping brands collaborate with the creators, the creators
not only have a new way of generating revenue but they can also build up their portfolio
by collaborating with famous brands like Coca-Cola or Seven Eleven.
And also for the brands, it can be a new way of advertising their news products especially
by entering the conversational media."
As emoticons become a new way to earn money and Korean-made emoticons get more recognition
abroad,... more people are getting interested in making such emoticons.
Accordingly, local governments are coming up with programs to support these beginners...
and one of them is Eunpyeong-gu District's "Emoticon character design expert program".
"Due to the pandemic, non-contact services have gone up,... along with non face-to-face
communication.
Emoticons that can share not only text but also emotions are getting the spotlight and
accordingly the number of related jobs is increasing so we have come up with a program
with Eunpyeong-gu District office."
The 200-hour program which takes place over 52 days invites those aspiring to be emoticon
creators.
While providing basic preparation kits such as tablets,... the center lets trainees get
to know the whole process of being an emoticon creator: from making emoticons to servicing
to a variety of platforms for revenue.
"It was hard to know how to use the program tools or get approval from Kakaotalk for my
emoticon.
I want to learn how to use the tool and get lots of tips."
The expert says the government has recently started providing programs focused on supporting
YouTube creators or social media marketers,... but more efforts should be made for emoticon
designers.
"Creative sectors such as being a YouTuber, a social media marketer and an emoticon creator
heavily depend on one's own capability but there is no site to learn.
Most of them learn from private institutions and YouTube.
If the government provides more support and if there is even a major at universities,...
the industry would grow faster."
Small and simple.
But an emoticon is no longer just an extra way to share feelings.
It has now become a huge industry,... showing Korean creators' design skills and ideas,
and creating jobs and income.
Kim Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.