Kidult, a compound word of children and adults, is increasing in number of kidult content that makes you feel like you're back to your childhood.
A coffee drink with a favorite character is gaining popularity, and adults are also flocking to the rabbit character exhibition, which is already 70 years old.
Reporter Lee Kwang-yeon covered it.
[Reporter]
From 'Olaf latte' with sweet chocolate and whipped cream on top of freshly brewed coffee to drinks that bring out Christmas sensibility.
It is a cafe that reproduces friendly characters in movies and cartoons with drinks.
[Ha Jae-yeon (30s) /Munjeong-dong, Seoul: I like Sanrio's My Melody. First of all, I like pink, // and it has cuteness therapy. I get therapy for my cuteness and buy it, so I think it's the same win-win relationship.]
You can get a menu of interesting characters as well as rare used items, so it's crowded even in the broad daylight when it snows.
The manager, who got a job as a barista three years ago, also had a hobby that he didn't have while making coffee with characters on it.
[Café Manager: It's very important to dress dolls and think about how to display them to look prettier, so it's fun and healing. // I wasn't interested in props at first, but after doing it, I got absorbed in it..]
Following the Hello Kitty exhibition, which attracted 200,000 people for four months, Miffy, a character loved for 70 years, is also attracting adults who remember their childhood.
This exhibition, where postboxes are held from the entrance, offers a variety of experiences beyond just seeing them.
[Yang Soo-jin / "Miffy Exhibition" organizer: I think adults have a child in their hearts. I wanted to make sure that adults in their 20s and 30s would return to their childhood and run around well..]
In fact, most of the people who reserved tickets for the exhibition are in their 20s and 30s, and 8 out of 10 are women.
I meet the rabbit character I saw as a small picture book in my childhood and forget about me as an adult for a moment.
[Serami (20s) / Gayang-dong, Seoul: This is a Miffy bag and a key ring. I've seen him since he was a baby, and he has a childhood innocence and his character is very cute. [My mom is all grown up, so why do I like this?]
The kidult market, which was only 500 billion won in 2014, has more than tripled in seven years.
The 'kidult culture', which had a strong fanatic tendency to reveal only
, is now becoming a trend.
[Kim Nando / 2025 Trend Author: Young people use the expression "scratching" a lot these days, and it's a society that gets scratched, and the conflict has become very serious. The preference for small, cute, pure, and less complete things grows.
'Kidult sensibility' that captured the adult's heart
The spread of online culture and the combination of social phenomena that recall memories are leading the consumption of character culture.
I'm Lee Kwang Yeon of YTN.
Reporter for filming
: Park Jae-sang
※ 'Your report becomes news'
[Kakao Talk] YTN Search and Add Channel
[Phone] 02-398-8585
[Mail] social@ytn.co.kr
[Copyright holder (c) YTN Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution and use of AI data prohibited]
Culture
More- Listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 'The Culture of Making Soybean Paste'
- Musical actor Choi Jae-rim's condition has disrupted the stage one after another.
- Growing Actor Song Seungheon "I want to be a cool and old actor."
- This year's buzzword "Lucky Vicky"...Wisdom of life in "Low Growth Era"?