Why the Key Creators of BTS Animation Took on a Startup Challenge

Interview with NameXEnter Founded by Core Members of HYBE IPX Team
Collaboration with Baskin-Robbins, Expanding New Content
Plans to Showcase Various Universe IPs Including Burnout Island and Completely Bung-eo-ppang-iya

Founding members of NameX Enter. From the left, Kyungdeuk Lee TD, Aeyoung Kim PD, Yuna Go CEO, Minjung Choi Concept Artist, Muhyun Jang Director.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The key creators behind the BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) group’s character ‘TinyTAN’ are preparing for a new challenge. At the center is CEO Ko Yoon-ah, who founded NameX Entertainment in 2020. She said, "Content that is fun and flexible, backed by solid skills, will ultimately be recognized in the market." This confidence led her to decide to start her own business.

She was the head of the IPX planning team at HYBE, producing the TinyTAN universe and the animations ‘Magic Door’ and ‘Dream ON’. She is now fully engaged in developing new characters and stories at NameX Entertainment alongside director Jang Moo-hyun, who directed the TinyTAN animation. The founding team is close to an industry dream team. Talents from various fields have joined, including NCSoft technical director Lee Kyung-deuk, concept artist Choi Min-jung, and key members of Sidus Animation’s visual development team.

An indispensable part of CEO Ko’s profile is BTS. Previously, BTS’s agency Big Hit Music considered expanding artist indirect participation businesses. They contemplated creating revenue models through intellectual property (IP) utilization and derivative content based on BTS. The BTS character TinyTAN was at the core of this.

Since its release, TinyTAN has shown remarkable growth by expanding fan engagement in virtual spaces. The social distancing measures during COVID-19, which made face-to-face activities difficult, also played a role. Fans were enthusiastic about TinyTAN as another IP, especially due to the setting that the characters represent the second selves of BTS members and the high level of completion that even reflected each member’s habits.

The creators behind TinyTAN, having confirmed the potential for positive influence and audience engagement through lively characters, are preparing for another challenge.

The first project after founding the company was Baskin-Robbins’ Pink Spoon project. NameX Entertainment’s PD Kim Ae-young said, "Inspired by Baskin-Robbins Pink Spoon, we created sibling characters Barry and Robin and gained recognition for new content scalability."

Complete Bungeoppang Concept Art. Photo by NameX Enter.

They wanted to create various characters and animations that are fun and have a positive influence, but realizing this work within a company was not easy. CEO Ko explained, "Original IP worthy of the name can only be born when time and proper effort are invested," adding, "Content needs to mature sufficiently, and creators need time to immerse themselves in the content, which is why we established a startup."

Director Jang Moo-hyun said, "There are many outstanding CG artists in Korea, and K-content planning skills are globally recognized, but the lack of cases where good planning is connected with excellent creators and stable capital was also a reason for deciding to start a business."

Although they established the startup to break away from corporate animation production that pursues short-term results, the realistic challenge of capital burden is hard to ignore. CEO Ko said that WhyNot Media, which became involved early on, made initial investments, allowing them to focus on planning and producing their own IP without relying on sales for the time being.

WhyNot Media, which previously acquired the feature drama production companies Oz Arena and The Great Show consecutively, plans to build a diverse content production line from IP planning to web dramas, mini-series, and animations through its investment in NameX Entertainment shares, and to engage in businesses utilizing derivative IP.

Complete Bungeoppang Concept Art. Photo by NameX Enter.

NameX Entertainment is currently planning and developing four new characters and animation IPs. PD Kim Ae-young introduced, "‘Completely Like a Fish-shaped Pastry’ is a snack content and a story about a young idol trainee running a street stall in front of Nakwon Arcade in Jongno and a lively, nagging fish-shaped pastry character, with a teaser about to be released."

CEO Ko added, "‘Burnout Island,’ which intertwines the myth of Seolmundae Halmang from Jeju with the story of modern people suffering burnout embarking on an adventure to achieve ‘God-life’ proposed by a mysterious being, is also a project scheduled for teaser release this year."

CEO Ko expressed her ambition to plan IPs centered on digital characters that encompass various universes and complete their narratives.

"We will continue to present IPs that hold potential, making people want to know more and share more time and heart."

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