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*Pororo the Little Penguin*
Pororo the Little Penguin
	English Title Card
Hangul	뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로
Genre	Children's television series; Comedy; Cartoon series;
Opening theme	"Always Happy as Can Be" (seasons 1-2); "Hello Friends" (seasons 3-4); "Hello Everyone" (seasons 5-7);
Ending theme	"We Are the Best of Friends" (season 1); "We Are All Friends" (season 2); "We Are All Good Friends" (seasons 3-7);
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean;
No. of seasons	8 (9, including the revival)
No. of episodes	338 (including the revival) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	5 minutes (Season 1-3) 11 minutes (Season 4-8)
Production companies	Ocon Animation Studios; Iconix Entertainment;
Original release
Network	EBS1, Disney Junior (Korea), Cartoon Network (Korea)
Release	November 27, 2003 –; present

Pororo the Little Penguin (Korean: 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로, romanized: Pporongpporong Ppororo) is a South Korean 3D computer animated television series. The series premiered on EBS 1 in South Korea in 2003. The series has 8 seasons.^[1]

The series revolves around the adventures of a little penguin named Pororo, and his friends who live in the snowy hamlet of Porong Porong Forest, who often encounter challenges and learn practical and moral lessons in each episode.^[1]

Production

It was created in 2003 by Iconix Entertainment Co., Ltd, a company based in Seoul, South Korea. In 2002, prior to the first episode's airing, Okon drew attention as an inter-Korean joint animation in which he collaborated with North Korea's Samchully General Assembly. Choi Sang-hyun, who was working at Iconix Entertainment, was given a project of creating a character that represents an animal living in the winter. Choi visited a zoo in order to see those animals and understand how children enjoyed watching them.

Several professional designers joined the project to come up with a character, but Choi's design was chosen as the winner, which then became Pororo. The original Pororo was a blue and white, petite penguin sporting an aviator helmet and goggles, which became popular among children. When it was introduced, it targeted children aged 4–7.

Pororo has no specific background or cultural coding, so that the series could be popular to children worldwide. Pororo's design inspirations include iconic mascots Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty. The creators picked the colours blue, pink and white to ensure familiarity for children, as well as representing said colors for boys and girls.

When making episodes, producers focused to details that could be biased to certain cultural codes or give a historical reference, that is sensitive to viewers in certain parts of the world. For example, they ensured that the characters wave rather than bowing or nodding to each other. In the third season, the characters were all given redesigns and outfits that correspond to their personalities.

Characters

English credits:

English translation: Ani100
English voice director: Anna Paik

Korean cast

Lee Sun: Pororo, Monkey 1
Lee Mija: Crong, Rody(Season 3 ~ Season 7)
Kim Hwan Jin: Poby, Dragon, Santa Claus(Season 1), Wall Clock, Shark(Season 3, 5, 6)
Ham Soo Jeong: Eddy, Popo
Hong So Yeong: Loopy, Nyao, Monkey 2
Jeong Misuk: Petty
Kim Seo Yeong: Harry, Monkey 3, Aliens
Koo Ja Hyeong: Narrator, Tong-tong, Yeti, Whale(Season 1, New 1), Santa Claus(NEW 1), Robot Cook, Dinosaur Robot
Um Sang-hyun: Shark(Season 4, Season 7~), Santa Claus(Season 4), Tu-tu's Creator(Season 4), King Pullala
Jang Eun Sook: Tutu, Butterfly 1
Jeong Sun Hye: Butterfly 2
Lee So Yeong: Jay
Jeong Yeong Woong: Fuzzy Wuzzy
Kim Eun Ah: Rody(Season 8~)
Nam Do Hyeong: Singing King Robot

English cast

Season 1

Anna Paik: Pororo
Tunde Skovran: Crong
Lisa Kelley: Loopy
Kristen Myung-hee Cho: Eddy
Brandon Yu: Poby
James Bondy: Narrator

Season 2

Samia Mounts: Pororo, Viruses
Bommie Catherine Han: Eddy, Petty, Harry, The Fairy, Good Crong and Bad Crong
Andrea Libman -> Hannah Grace: Loopy
Tunde Skovran: Crong
Robert William Gardiner: Poby
Josh Schwartzentruber: Robots, Dragon
Nancy Kim: Aliens
Dean Wendt: Narrator

Season 3

Bommie Catherine Han: Pororo, Nyao
Tunde Skovran: Crong
John Choi: Poby
Erica Lee: Eddy
Anna Paik -> Samantha Kim Daniel: Loopy
Samantha Kim Daniel -> Shannon Chan-Kent: Petty
Jenny Cho: Harry
John Lee: Tong-Tong
Adam Lofbomm: Rody
James Bondy: Narrator, Wall Clock
Caelyn Shin: Popo, Pipi

Season 4

Bommie Han - Pororo, Summer Island Monkey
Tünde Skovrán - Crong
Samantha Kim Daniel - Loopy(Most of episodes), Petty, Butterflies
Dana Gaier - Loopy(Few of episodes)
Erica Lee - Eddy, Summer Island Monkey
John Choi - Poby
Jenny Hyobin Cho - Harry
Anna Paik - Rody, Summer Island Monkey
John Lee - Tong-Tong, Spider
Caelyn Shin - Tu-Tu
Greg Irwin - Narrator

Season 5

Monique Dami Lee: Pororo
Lee MiJa: Crong
Kristen Myung Hee Cho: Eddy
John Choi: Poby, Narrator
Samantha Kimberly Daniel: Petty, Rody
John Lee: Tong-tong
Caelyn Shin: Loopy, Tu-tu
Jenny Hyobin Cho: Harry

Season 6

Bommie Catherine Han: Pororo, Monkey 1
Lee Mi Ja: Crong
Anna Desmarais: Eddy, Petty, Monkey 3
Nancy Kim: Harry
Anna Paik: Loopy, Tutu, Monkey 2
Matthew Anipen: Poby, Narrator, Wall Clock
Josh Schwartzentruber: Rody, Yeti, Fuzzy Wuzzy
John Lee: Tong-tong

Media

Seasons

Season 1: 52 x 5' (2003-2004)^[2]
Season 2: 52 x 5' (2005-2006)^[3]
Season 3: 52 x 5' (2009)
Season 4: 26 x 11' (2012)
Season 5: 26 x 11' (2014)
Season 6: 26 x 11' (2016)
Season 1 (revival): 52 x 5' (2017)
Season 7: 26 x 11 (2020-2021)
Season 8: 26 x 11 (2023)
Season 2 (revival): 52 x 5' (TBA)

Films and Bonus

Pororo: to the Cookie Castle (2004)
Pororo and Friends: Dance with La La (2011)
Pororo Goes to Korea (2012)
Pororo: The Racing Adventure (2013)
Pororo: Snow Fairy Adventure (2014)
Pororo: Cyberspace Adventure (2015)
Pororo, Dinosaur Island Adventure (2017)
Pororo, Dragon Castle Adventure (2022)
Pororo and Friends Movie, Virus Busters (2022)

Others

Spin-offs

Pororo Sing-A-Long: 14 x 3' (2006)^[4]
Eddy The Clever Fox: Season 1: 13 x 5' (2010~2011)
Loopy, The Cooking Princess: 6 x 5' (2012)
Eddy The Clever Fox: Season 2: 13 x 5' (2012~2013)
Pororo's English Show: 13 x 5' (2012~2013)
Pororo in My Pocket: Season 1: 10 x 5 (2017)
Pororo Sing Along S8: 13 x 5' (2023)

Shorts

Netflix New Year's Eve Countdown 2018 (2017)

Reception and legacy

Initially, Pororo was created solely for entertainment. Later, parents suggested to Choi Jung-il of Iconix Entertainment that new episodes with educational value be included. Producers have received many requests, ranging from what the characters should eat and how to play in episodes to what they can do for society.

Korean Air also provides Pororo-related merchandise for children including a doodle book, a colouring book and a plush toy of the character. In 2015, Pororo was chosen as the mascot for mass transportation in Seoul.

In the summer of 2016, a Pororo theme park opened at Seoul COEX Mall featuring rides and a parade of Pororo characters.^[5]

Awards and nominations

In 2007, Pororo received numerous awards from the South Korean government, including the award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 2010, Pororo got the president's award for Best Animated Characters. In 2014, Pororo got the award for Creative Brands.

References

^ ^a ^b "Pororo the Little Penguin". welcon.kocca.kr. Archived from the original on 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
^ ""Pororo the Little Penguin"". Archived from the original on 2011-10-15. Retrieved 2012-05-28. Episode Guide Season 1
^ ""Pororo the Little Penguin"". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2012-05-28. Episode Guide Season 2
^ "뽀로로와 노래해요 1기 - Originally 14 episodes, additional 12". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
^ "코엑스몰서 '뽀로로 카니발' 개최". Ulsan Maeil. 2016-05-07. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-05-08.