At 9 a.m. on the 4th, a day before Children's Day, at Seoul Central Post Office in Jung District, Seoul. Before the doors even opened, about 20 people were lined up waiting. They were there to buy commemorative stamps and postcards for the popular animated series "Catch! Teenieping."
A person surnamed Kim (52), who has collected stamps as a hobby for about 11 years, said, "Whenever commemorative stamps come out, I study the background and origins of the stamps, but this Teenieping was a bit difficult," and added, "I received the stamps and postcards through a pre-order, but I came all the way to Seoul Central Post Office to make a 'first day cover' with a postmark of the issue date."
◇People of all ages flock to post offices for Teenieping
According to Korea Post of the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 5th, starting at 9 a.m. the previous day, more than 230 post offices nationwide and the online post office began on-site sales of commemorative stamps and illustrated postcards featuring the characters and universe of "Princess Catch! Teenieping."
The cartoon is SAMG Entertainment's flagship intellectual property (IP), and it follows the journey of Princess Romi of the Emotion Kingdom as she gathers the fairies of the heart, "Teenieping." Six seasons have been produced, and the number of Teenieping types released to date comes to 153.
Even after the post office opened on the 4th, people kept coming to buy Teenieping stamps. The counter for commemorative cancellations was especially crowded. The ages ranged from children to seniors.
A person surnamed Park (39) from Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, came to the post office with a 6-year-old daughter. Although the favorite "Chorongping" was not on the commemorative stamps or postcards, they looked excited.
Park said, "We came out to enjoy an outing and buy gifts ahead of Children's Day," and added, "I bought five stamps and five postcards each to share with my daughter's friends and my father, who collects stamps as a hobby."
A person surnamed Kim (70) stopped by three post offices from the morning to buy commemorative stamps for a granddaughter. Kim said, "After buying two stamps each at Songpa Post Office and Gangdong Post Office, I came to Central Post Office to buy a more ample quantity," and added, "My granddaughter likes character stamps, so we've been waiting since last year, and the Teenieping stamps finally came out, so I put in the legwork."
A nearby office worker, a person surnamed Kim (35), came to buy stamps on behalf of a coworker. Kim said, "I heard Teenieping is very popular with children, so I bought postcards along with the stamps."
Many also came to buy commemorative stamps and postcards for collection. A person surnamed Park (31), who works in Euljiro, said, "I usually like Teenieping and collect related items," and added, "I heard on an online community that Teenieping stamps were coming out, so I squeezed this in during my lunch break."
A person surnamed Yoo (56), who said stamp collecting is a hobby, said, "I come to the Central Post Office whenever commemorative stamps are released," and, laughing, added, "My nephew has now graduated from Teenieping, but I'm just getting started."
◇700,000 Teenieping commemorative stamps, 10,000 postcards
The wait time to buy Teenieping commemorative stamps and postcards was not long. Pre-orders were taken through on the 9th of last month, and they were also available for purchase through the online post office, which appears to have had an effect.
The issuance volume was also ample. Ten types of commemorative stamps were printed in 700,000 full sheets, and 10,000 illustrated postcards were produced. Even after 12 p.m. that day, Teenieping stamps were available on site.
A stamp collector met at the post office, identified as A, said, "Usually 400,000 commemorative stamps are issued," and added, "Since Teenieping is a popular character, it seems they printed more than usual."