Pengsoo Adds Fringe Humor to EBS

EBS is home to many popular cartoon characters for kids.

However, the educational TV channel recently introduced a strange new character who has its own way of doing things.

Its name is Pengoo, and it is a penguin, like the popular EBS character Pororo.

However, that is probably where their similarities end.

Unlike Pororo, Pengsoo is not an animated character, but rather, it is played by an actor inside a costume.

It is cute but slightly awkward looking.

It is also huge, measuring 210 centimeters tall.

According to EBS, the 10-year-old penguin swam from the South Pole to Korea because it wanted to be a superstar like BTS.

It joined EBS as a trainee, but it hopes to be promoted to a full-time character someday.

As a character-in-training, Pengsoo does not have its own TV show yet.

Instead, it regularly appears on the online channel, "Giant Peng TV."

There, it shows off its many talents and sometimes discusses topics suitable for elementary school students.

All the while, Pengsoo talks and acts like no other EBS character.

For example, it often calls out the EBS president by name and sometimes gets in trouble for saying what's on its mind.

Penshoo's unique personality has proven to be a hit with both children and adults.

Teenagers and adults in their 20s and 30s especially find the penguin's quirky, non-mainstream sense of humor to be a breath of fresh air.

Pengsoo has recently held big fan meetings in Seoul and Busan.

In addition, its YouTube channel has amassed hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

 

• fringe  frɪndʒ   (눈썹 위까지 내려오게 자른) 앞머리  fringe benefit  부가 혜택    fringe area (도시) 주변 지역, 

• be home to  의 본고장이다   similarity  ˌsɪməˈlærəti   유사성, 닮음 (=resemblance)   costume  ˈkɑːstuːm   (특정 지역이나 시대의) 의상[복장] (→national costume)

• awkward  |ɔːkwərd  기분이) 어색한 ,  (처리하기) 곤란한 (=difficult)  trainee  ˌtreɪˈniː   (특정한 직종을 위해) 교육을 받는 사람, 수습 (직원)

• All the while  그동안 죽, 내내, 시종   what's on its mind  무슨 생각을 하고 있는 것일까. 

• prove  pruːv    입증[증명]하다 (↔disprove) (→proof) , (…임이) 드러나다[판명되다] (=turn out)   quirky  kwə́:rki  꾀바른, 변덕스러운

• amass  əˈmæs   모으다, 축적하다 (=accumulate)   subscriber  səbˈskraɪbə  구독자