"15m Giant Belly Bear Appears" Lotte Home Shopping Exhibits at Lotte World Tower Lawn Plaza

MZ Generation Employees Plan Through In-House Venture Program
Possess 1.1 Million Fandom with Hidden Camera Content
Accelerate Development of Independent Brand by Expanding into NFT and Other Areas
Plan to Enter Global Content Platforms

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Lotte Homeshopping announced on the 31st that from the 1st to the 17th of next month, to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the opening of Lotte World Tower, it will install its own character 'Bellygom' in a special giant size of 15 meters, equivalent to the height of a 4-story apartment, at the World Park outdoor lawn plaza, creating a 'photo spot sanctuary' during the cherry blossom season.

'Bellygom' is a character born from an in-house venture program conducted in 2018 targeting MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) employees at Lotte Homeshopping. It is a pink bear who loves people and has the worldview of 'a bear that brings laughter to everyday life.' It started from the hope of MZ generation employees who wanted to create a character like the giant duck 'Rubber Duck,' which caused a photo-taking craze at Jamsil Seokchon Lake in 2014, to convey happy emotions to people. 'Bellygom' gained 1.1 million SNS fans in three years through video content with a hidden camera concept aimed at the general public. Expanding social media channels from the existing YouTube (BellygomTV) to Instagram, TikTok, and others, it has released a total of 900 contents, surpassing 300 million cumulative views.

Lotte Homeshopping will intensify activities to nurture Bellygom as an independent brand, starting with the 5th anniversary event of Lotte World Tower. The 15-meter giant balloon Bellygom to be installed this time was made with the same material to produce an image similar to the actual Bellygom, and six 2-meter Bellygoms will also be installed to provide visual attractions under the concept of 'Amazing Bellygom.' During the event period, a Bellygom goods shop selling dolls, clothing, accessories, etc., will be operated as a pop-up store, and a photo event will be held where visitors who upload certification shots taken with the giant Bellygom on SNS will receive Bellygom balloons. Various events involving citizens have been prepared, such as a 'hidden camera event' where Bellygom suddenly appears at the exhibition site to surprise visitors, and an 'escort event' where visitors move from nearby subway stations to the exhibition site together with Bellygom.

Meanwhile, in February, Lotte Homeshopping collaborated with a famous domestic non-fungible token (NFT) platform to release a limited edition 3D NFT figure of Bellygom, which sold out in 10 minutes. In March, it opened its own shopping mall Bellygom.com selling goods such as Bellygom dolls, grip-toks, and phone cases, and is currently holding an offline exhibition at Busan LCT featuring Bellygom NFT works and art toys, receiving high acclaim. In the future, it plans to apply and expand NFT technology to various businesses related to Bellygom and plans to enter global content platforms such as China and Indonesia.

Lee Bohyun, head of the Media Business Division at Lotte Homeshopping, said, "Bellygom started activities on social media such as YouTube without exposing that it was content developed by Lotte Homeshopping from the planning stage, aiming for 'communication through content' and 'securing independent competitiveness' rather than in-house marketing." He added, "Through this public exhibition, we plan to widely promote Bellygom as a photo spot as famous as 'Rubber Duck,' a friendly and likable character, and further nurture it as an independent brand."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.