Kakao's Ryan character to join Samsung Lions Park water festival

Ryan, the flagship character of Kakao's KakaoFriends brand, will appear at the Samsung Lions Park Water Festival amid growing interest from baseball fans following last month's collaboration with the Samsung Lions.

Kakao said Monday that Ryan will take part in a series of on-site events at the water festival, which runs Tuesday through Sunday at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.

Kakao said the collaborative merchandise collection "Samsung Lions X Ryan: RYAN IS LIONS," released last month, drew a strong response. The company said the shared "lion" identity — combined with a parallel milestone narrative, Ryan's 10th anniversary this year and Samsung Lions Park's own 10th anniversary — resonated strongly with baseball fans.

According to Kakao, fans lined up outside the offline team store as early as 5 a.m. on weekdays to purchase the merchandise, an unusually early queue even by open-run standards. On the online Lions team store hosted on Berriz, the fan platform operated by Kakao Entertainment, a cheering clapper sold out within one second of going on sale. In response to fan demand, five popular items — the cheering clapper, a plush keyring, a plush headband, a stress-ball keyring and a marking kit — are now available for pre-order.

Buoyed by the response, Kakao said it will bring Ryan back to Samsung Lions Park for a second visit, following his first appearance on July 16. Ryan is set to join the ceremonial first-pitch thrower at Tuesday's game. During the water festival, a short-form video of Ryan firing a water gun — themed to the festival — will be shown on the stadium scoreboard.

Meanwhile, Kakao said it is running a series of brand projects this year to mark Ryan's 10th anniversary, including the release of a special video, anniversary-edition products and new emoticons. The company said it plans to extend the appeal of KakaoFriends' signature character into areas such as sports and lifestyle.

"Ryan and Samsung Lions Park, both celebrating their 10th anniversaries, are offering baseball fans a fresh kind of fun and a story to share," a Kakao official said. "We hope fans will make cool and joyful summer memories watching baseball live alongside Ryan at this week's water festival."