On the 11th (local time) in the middle of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Two minutes on foot from the Apple Store and one minute from PARCO department store, there was 'Line Friends Square Shibuya.' IPX (formerly Line Friends) hoped that 'Line Friends Square Shibuya,' which opened in June last year, would become a 'square' where fans of artists and various works gather. A man who has lived in Japan for over 20 years said, 'I was moved when Line Friends Square was established in the middle of Shibuya,' adding that it is 'evidence that Korean culture has become mainstream in Japan.'
The popular webtoon 'School Mercenary' popup store from Naver Webtoon opened on the 7th at 'Line Friends Square Shibuya.' Running until the 25th, the 'School Mercenary' popup store is the first official popup event operated locally in Japan. Naver Webtoon plans to increase its dominance in the Japanese market by collaborating with IPX (formerly Line Friends), which specializes in character intellectual property (IP) business.
◇ A popular work with cumulative views exceeding 1.5 billion... 'With great care in space production'
'School Mercenary' tells the story of 'Yujin,' the only survivor of a plane crash at the age of 8, who became a mercenary, and the combat organization 'Numbers.' School Mercenary ranked 1st in the Line Manga popularity rankings for 2023 and 2024. Within two years of serialization, it surpassed 400 million cumulative views on Line Manga and recorded the highest performance of any single work on Line Manga for the year by exceeding 100 million yen in monthly transaction value in 2023. As of December last year, global cumulative views exceeded 1.5 billion. It has been translated into a total of 10 languages, including Korean, Japanese, English, Thai, Indonesian, and French.
I descended the stairs to enter the popup store located on the basement level. The stairs were decorated to resemble a dense jungle to recreate the training and combat sites that Yujin experienced during his mercenary days. Before entering the popup store, there was also a space to watch a specially produced video for the event. The animation version of School Mercenary could be viewed on screens that filled all four walls.
The popup store exhibited over 100 types of merchandise. The characters drawn by the artist Rak-hyun for the display were packed on one wall. There were also life-size figures that reproduced the actual height of the 'Numbers' mercenaries. Taiki Tanaka, Line Friends Product Manager, explained, 'Fans immerse themselves in the universe of School Mercenary through the stairs and the videos, leading to the shopping space,' emphasizing the effort put into the space production.
The most popular item at the popup store is the 'random can badge.' These badges feature characters' illustrations, but the packaging is opaque, making it impossible to know what’s inside until opened. Manager Taiki noted, 'Random products are all the rage in Japan,' adding that fans show their enthusiasm by continuing to purchase until their favorite character appears. He also mentioned that 'replica' products, which recreate the tracksuits or student IDs often worn by the protagonist, are also very popular.
Tamami Asami, 29, said, 'I was amazed at how well the work was recreated while descending the stairs,' adding that she is a fan of the popular Japanese manga 'Attack on Titan' and visited the popup because it had a similar feel.
◇ Line Manga raises its market share in Japan... 'Considering other work popups as well'
Naver Webtoon plans to strengthen its local dominance through the Japanese service Line Manga. Currently, Line Manga and Kakao Piccoma's 'Piccoma' are leading the webtoon market in Japan. While Kakao Piccoma is more recognized among readers, Line Manga plans to increase its market share through localization, including operating local studios and marketing. According to global mobile app research firm Data.ai, Line Manga ranked first in total app market revenue in Japan in May last year.
Manager Taiki stated, 'The goal is to generate 50 million yen (approximately 478,020,000 won) in revenue from School Mercenary by the 25th,' noting that 'this is on par with the sales of popular Korean idol popups.' He added, 'Depending on the results of the School Mercenary popup, we plan to organize events for other works as well.'