Pengsoo

Pengsoo (Korean: 펭수, Pengsu) is a penguin character that appears on the YouTube channel Giant Peng TV, run by Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) in South Korea. In the comic, Pengsoo is a ten-year-old trainee at EBS who dreams of being a universal superstar.[1]

Pengsoo
First appearance
  • Tok!Tok! Boni, Hani
  • April, 2019
In-universe information
Full namePengsoo
SpeciesGiant Penguin
GenderUnknown
OccupationCreator
AffiliationEducational Broadcasting System
OriginAntarctica

Pengsoo was also invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met Minister Kang Kyung-wha on November 6, 2019 to promote a special summit between South Korea and the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.[2] It also entered the 2021 EBS College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) special lecture and was featured as the EBS PerfectScore Workbook cover model, which was released in 2020.[3]

On January 29, 2020, Giant Peng TV (자이언트 펭TV) reached 2 million subscribers.

History

At first, the character was set for children, and an episode of transferring the school to Ilsan Elementary School in Korea was aired. The YouTube channel was operated together, and by May 2019, the number of subscribers was only 37.[4]

Pengsoo portrays the role of an anti-hero such as a light behavior or an honest expression of jealousy. It breaks existing social norms in Korea and contrasts with another famous penguin character on EBS, Pororo the Little Penguin, who is a more gentle creature.[5] It began to gain popularity as he appeared with other characters in the program called EBS Athletics Championships (E-Yuk Dae),[6] and the scene of complaining about the name of EBS's president Kim Myung-joong without hesitation gained a great response from office workers.[7]

Currently, it is called the PO-president of adults. Pengsoo appeals to Kidults and has built a fan base of more than 2 million YouTube subscribers.[8]

Character

According to the self-introduction on the official website, Pengsu is 10 years old and currently is an EBS trainee.[9] According to Pengsu in the audition video, he said that he had been swimming in Antarctica to become the best creator, then crash-landed in Switzerland to learn the yodeling song and swim from Switzerland to the coast of Incheon, and he wanted to be like Pororo of EBS.[10] The gender of Pengsu is unknown, and the height of Pengsu is 2m 10cm.[11] In addition, Pengsu is described as using Pengsu's own toilets and showers.[12]

Popularity

Pengsoo's rise in popularity is largely credited to its unique character. It has been described as rude, back-talking, and brazen.[13]

Influence

Pengsoo was chosen as the "Animal of the year 2020". Pengsoo is one of the most influential penguins in South Korea currently and has shot many TV commercials and public advertisements for encouragement, cheering on the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Pengsoo beat BTS to become South Korea's "Person of the Year".[14]

Buzzwords

Pengsoo is credited with popularizing buzzwords like "눈치챙겨 (on your wits), 엣헴엣헴, 신이나, 펭러뷰, 펭하, 펭빠"[15]

Merchandise

Due to Pengsoo's popularity, consumers asked EBS to make and sell Pengsoo's official merchandise. EBS has released the Pengsoo calendar, Pengsoo pajama, Pengsoo mug, Pengsoo diary, Pengsoo clothes, etc. in the market for its fans. They have become quite popular in certain areas. Pengsoo also made an appearance as a playable character in Nexon’s mobile game KartRider Rush+ since November 26th, 2020.

Discography

As a lead artist
Title Year Peak chart
positions		 Album
KOR
[16]
"This Is Pengsoo" (펭수로 하겠습니다)
with Tiger JK, Bizzy, Bibi		 2020 54 Billboard Project Vol. 1
"Christmas Returns" (크리스마스 리턴즈)
with Kim Tae-woo (g.o.d), Park Jin-joo, Yoon Sang		 152 Non-album single

References
  1. "TV". home.ebs.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  2. "Penguin character Pengsu".
  3. "[방송소식] 펭수, EBS 수능특강 표지모델 外". news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  4. Lee, Yu-jin(이유진) (2019-11-08). ""대한민국은 펭하!" 경계를 넘나드는 펭귄, 펭수앓이 왜?" [“Korea is Pengha!” Penguin crossing the border, why is the penguin?]. Kyunghyang Shinmun.
  5. '펭TV' 펭수 "교육은 가르치는 게 아니라 인생 그 자체", 한국경제, 2019-10-2.
  6. Jang, Yu-ha(장유하) (2019-10-21). "애들 지각시켰다고 항의 많이 받았던 개그우먼의 근황". jobsN.
  7. Lee, Min-jung(이민정); Kim, Ji-hye(김지혜). "꼰대 깨부수는 병맛 센스···'어른들의 뽀로로' 펭수 만났다" [Sense of breaking ggondae ...We met Pengsu called 'Adults' Pororo',]. JoongAng Ilbo.
  8. 지금까지 이런 펭귄은 없었다...2030도 사로잡은 '펭수', 노컷뉴스, 2019-10-17.
  9. "Character Introduction". Giant Peng TV.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "EBS 최초 연습생 펭수의 오디션 합격 TIP *최초공개*" [EBS' first trainee Pengsu passed the audition TIP *First public*]. Giant Peng TV Youtube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "펭수에 대한 모든 QnA" [All QnA for Pengsu]. Giant Peng TV Youtube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "[단독] 펭귄 의혹 전격 해부! ㅣ독점 인터뷰: 김민교, 양치승 [Ep.57] (ENG)" [[Exclusive] Dissecting the penguin suspicion! ㅣExclusive Interview: Minkyo Kim, Chiseung Yang [Ep.57] (ENG)]. Giant Peng TV Youtube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Pengsoo: The rude giant penguin that South Korea fell in love with". BBC. BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  14. Gifford, Storm. "Penguin mascot Pengsoo voted South Korea's Person of the Year". New York Daily News. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  15. 이, 정현 (2020-01-03). "'놀면 뭐하니' 펭수 연예대상 대기실서 '정체' 공개될까? 플린 김동준 관심도 수직↑" ['How do you play' Is Pengsu going to reveal his identity in the waiting room of the entertainment award? Increased interest in Kim Dong-joon, YouTuber 'Flynn'.]. 내외경제TV (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "Gaon Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart.
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