Top 15 Famous Korean Cartoon Characters Of All Time

Top 15 Famous Korean Cartoon Characters Of All Time

A list of the famous Korean cartoon characters that are well-celebrated in Korea and around the world.

South Korea has produced some wonderful cartoon shows for people of all ages over the past few years. 

Many of these shows can be seen via their YouTube channels and make for a good time to spend with the family. Although targeting Korean audiences, many Korean shows get globally released via international partners. 

Thanks to their art style and stories, some of the characters in these shows have become pop culture icons. And you’ll find 15 of the most popular characters & their shows on this Korean cartoon characters list.

Let’s dive in.

Voice Actors: Alyssa Swales

Starting the list is the main lead of a visually spectacular show, Rainbow Ruby. 

We meet Ruby, a young girl with magic powers who has been whisked away to Rainbow Town, a land where she goes on adventures with toys that are alive.

Rainbow Ruby is a show targeted at young children, and it is easy for them to get hooked on the charm of her songs and transformations. Ruby will have many tools, costumes, and powers to help the other toys in Rainbow Town.

Even though her show is short-lived, Ruby has become one of the most popular girl Korean cartoon characters ever.

Voice Actors: Yeo Min Jung (Korean Dub), Kelly Hu (English Dub), Runa Natsui (Japanese Dub)

The show, Hello Jadoo, is about Choi Jadoo, a tomboyish girl who is an elementary school student navigating through life with help from her family and friends. 

Choi Jadoo is quick and impatient. She likes to play and not study. Her family consists of a lazy father, a headstrong mother, and spoiled siblings that make for some funny skits. 

She is comparable with Anya from the Spy x Family anime. If you are looking for a new cartoon recommendation, Hello Jadoo is available on Youtube.

Voice Actors: Brandon Winckler, Erica Mendez 

This show combines cards, mechs, and cars into a kid's show that's full of fun visuals, world-building, and creativity.

Jason from Turning Mecard is your typical energetic boy who discovers a transforming car called a Mecardimal. A Mecardimal uses cards for its many attacks and abilities. It can take the form of animals, robots, and other objects.

Jason’s own Mecardimal is called Evan, a blue car that transforms into a robot. Evan will need Jason’s help if they are to learn to protect each other, for they are now caught in a war with other characters looking to collect more Mecardimals for their various agendas. 

Voice Actors: Cristina Vee

The number twelve entry to our list is a popular Korean character called Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. She is an aspiring fashion designer by day and a superhero by night.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir revolves around Marinette’s two lives. During the day, she is an aspiring student and by night, Marinette fights crime using her many powers as her alter-ego Ladybug.

Ladybug is a powerful superhero that enhances Marinette’s physical strength, speed, and confidence. 

Voice Actors: Bill Rogers (2017)

A lot of Korean shows revolve around transforming vehicles, so here is another one. 

Robot Trains is set in a world of transforming trains that want to build railroads all across the world. We first meet Kay, a transforming train that uses a gateway to find new paths, but this goes out of hand when his partner Duke betrays him.

Kay returns to their world and needs to recover his memories and train to become stronger, find out what went wrong, and hopefully save all the other trains. It is revealed that Kay is a fast train and that he can warp space-time.

Voice Actors: -

These little critters combine cans with their adorable animals. Canimals is a show that is a cool mashup of live-action and 3D animation. When the humans are away, the Canimals will play.

Ato is just one of the many characters in the show who is kind, curious, and playful. He likes to hang around with the other Canimals and explore the world around them. 

Ato uses his curiosity to sniff around and find what makes an object tick. Together with the other Canimals, they will get crazy over ordinary things. Canimals turn the most mundane of everyday items into animation shorts full of fun and canned humor.

Age: - 

Height: approximately 12 feet

Voice Actors: Moon Nam-Sook (Korea), Luca Padovan (Season 1), Hudson Loverro (Season 2 - Present)

Superwings is a hit South Korean cartoon about transformable planes. The main hero, named Jett, is a popular Korean cartoon character that uses his speed to help people.

Jett goes all over the world with a friendly smile and a can-do attitude like a boy scout. As a superjet, he has several gadgets and equipment for many situations, but he also knows when to call for backup, especially his best friend Donny.

Superwings even teaches kids some local languages from other countries to help viewers understand other parts of the world.

Height: 157 cm

Voice Actor: Rebecca Soler (2018-2020)

In Robocar Poli, we meet a group of transformable cars that go about Broomstown City doing their work to serve and protect. One of these is Amber, a transforming ambulance who goes about her patrols while also taking care of the kids.

While she sounds like a killjoy, her compassion is shown when she saves the kids from certain life-and-death scenarios. She’s an overall positive influence.

Amber is just one of the Robocar Poli cast members that also has a popular toy line in Korea. 

Height: - 

Voice Actor: Beom-gi Hong (2011-2019)

These caterpillars brought laughter all around the world with their slapstick humor. Yellow is the carefree caterpillar with an antenna, always hungry, and is friends with the easily-angered Red. 

Red is always the cause of mischief, which causes pain to both of them. Their silly mischief brings them to all sorts of places and misadventures. Their high-pitched, funny voices are frequently copied by fans, who shriek, cry, and copy this funny duo.

Both larvae have been squished, chopped, burned, frozen, and subjected to all manner of slapstick deaths so many times but it’s still entertaining to watch. 

The show manages to replicate the humor of older cartoons like Tom and Jerry.

If you have ever used KakaoTalk, its stickers, and funny emojis when texting, then you’ll recognize this character and his friends from their short cartoons over at their Youtube channel, Kakao Friends. 

Most people could mistake him for a bear at first glance but Ryan is actually a male lion without a mane and a short tail. He is an heir to the Doong Doong island but prefers to live a regular life with his pet cat Choonsik.

Ryan has a webcomic that ran from October 2020 to January 2021, and he is still popular to this day with brand advertisements and crossovers with the other Kakao Friends.

Height:  Kia Soul height is 63 inches, Tobot X form ranges from 7-10 feet

Voice Actor: Aaron Chapman (2018)

Giant robots will always have a place in children’s imaginations so South Korea made its own animation series about them called Tobot.

The first Tobot we meet is Tobot X whose appearance is that of a Kia Soul. He is a strong Tobot that acts like a mentor to the rest of the team. 

His key trait is power, as Tobot X also has the most upgrades out of all the other Tobots to support new powers. He uses a wide variety of moves and abilities to help the twins on whatever mission they are on.

Tobot X is one of the most popular Korean cartoon characters with his very own toy line.

Age:  Unknown but Birthday is on Jan 20

Height: 5 feet or 152 centimeters

Voice Actor: Jul Kohler (2010-2019)

Tayo is a friendly, playful, and sometimes mischievous character who is hardworking and committed to his role as a transport bus. He goes making rounds to help the people get to their destination safely.

Tayo and his fellow bus siblings, Rogi, Lani, and Gani, help the various passengers of their town while teaching life lessons to viewers.

Tayo and his siblings have their real-life bus counterparts present in South Korea, and their rides are a real treat for fans of the show. 

Voice Actor: Tabitha St. Germain (2006-2008), Ikue Otani (Japanese Voice)

Made by Voozclub, which also made Canimals, Pucca is one of the most popular girl cartoon characters on the list. Pucca is a mostly silent delivery girl who helps her three uncles manage a noodle restaurant in Sooga Village. 

The short cartoons usually feature Pucca’s romantic obsession with a ninja named Garu as she chases him just for a kiss. Pucca is strong, fast, and as capable as Garu. She’s become popular overseas as Disney helps Pucca gain a large following.

There was a time when everything had Pucca on it. From school bags to pencil cases, coloring books to clothing, and even video games.

Korea’s lovable penguin has one of the longest-running animated shows, from 2010-2019. 

Pororo loves to play with his friends, as an eager daredevil who likes to have adventures, especially when it comes to flying. His greatest wish to fly would sometimes backfire.

While being helpful to his friends, Pororo is clumsy and sometimes causes accidents. It’s a good thing that Pororo has good friends, especially Crong to help him out.

Age: 100 million years old (due to being trapped in Ice)

Height: 4 feet and 6 inches tall

Voice Actor: -

Last on my Korean cartoon characters list is one of Korea’s most famous cartoon characters. 

Dooly the Dinosaur has been a beloved character since his creation in 1983. He started as a comic and was then adapted into an animation show later in the 90s and then got a reboot in 2008.

Dooly the Little Dinosaur is all about a baby dinosaur that was given magic powers by aliens who kidnapped him. He was trapped in a glacier in the Ice Age but survived and is now learning to adapt to human life with other characters. 

Dooly is also a South Korean citizen, evidenced by his resident registration card.

From transforming robots, jets, trains, and cars to superheroes and cute animal friends, this list of Korean cartoon characters is as versatile as it gets.  It is with these characters that Korean animation has captured the hearts and imaginations of audiences all around the world.

Did you like this list? Do you know more famous Korean cartoon characters that should have made it here? Let me know in the comments.