[DiaryPoint = Reporter Choi Seung-jin] PUPPET SUNSUN, a Japanese character franchise, will hold its first official pop-up in Korea on the first floor of AK Plaza Hongdae in Seoul from Nov. 27 through Dec. 10. The 14-day event will offer more than 30 Korea-exclusive items, including plush toys, pouches and stationery. Korean operator Reverse announced the event in a press release.
The store will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Plans include purchase-based gifts, a character introduction area and photo spots. AK Plaza Hongdae is a shopping mall on Yanghwa-ro in Seoul’s Mapo District, directly connected to Hongik University Station, commonly known as Hongdae Station.
PUPPET SUNSUN follows the everyday lives of SUNSUN, a six-year-old puppet living in the land of puppets called Tuhawk, his best friend NONNON and his grandfather JONJON. Its creator, CHOCOLATE, says SUNSUN loves singing, dancing and eating bread. The official character profiles say NONNON likes ice cream, while JONJON is good at growing tasty vegetables.
According to CHOCOLATE, PUPPET SUNSUN has released video content on YouTube since 2019. Short films began airing on Fuji TV’s “Mezamashi TV” and its affiliated stations on July 2, 2025. New episodes were scheduled for around 7:40 a.m. every Wednesday. CHOCOLATE and Fuji TV said at the time that the characters’ social media accounts had more than 2 million followers combined.
The franchise has expanded from video and illustration into music. SUNSUN released his debut song, “とてと” (“Toteto”), on June 25, 2025, and the track was used as the theme song for the “Mezamashi TV” short films. In a press release announcing the show’s addition, Fuji TV chief producer Ryuhei Takahashi said the accounts had 2 million followers combined and videos of fans copying the dance had been played more than 10 million times.
In Japan, the character has also appeared in magazine installments and a music video. CHOCOLATE’s list of works includes a 2023 comic series in POPEYE magazine and an appearance in the music video for never young beach’s song “らりらりらん” (“Rarirariran”). The first Korean pop-up brings the character, whose work spans video, music and publishing, into a physical space alongside Korea-exclusive merchandise.
Korean operator Reverse also said it is working to bring the animation to Korea before the end of the year. Visitors planning to attend can check the event’s official notices for opening hours, on-site entry information and the terms for purchase-based gifts.