[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] SONOKONG CO., LTD.(066910), a toy company that has been established in the domestic market for over 40 years, announced on the 4th that it is moving its “K-IP Discovery Project”—launched through its wholly-owned subsidiary LOOPOP—into the actual market validation phase. The number of participating artists, which initially started at around 40, has expanded to about 50 ahead of the project’s launch.

The pop-up event “LOOPOP 2026 THE HYUNDAI” will take place from the 6th to the 18th on the B1 level of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido. SONOKONG CO., LTD. and its wholly-owned subsidiary LOOPOP are serving as the organizers and hosts, and approximately 50 domestic art toy artists affiliated with SONOKONG Heroes will participate to exhibit and sell their creations.
On July 31, LOOPOP announced the “K-IP Discovery Project,” revealing plans to expand SONOKONG CO., LTD.’s accumulated capabilities in product planning, manufacturing, quality control, and distribution into the creative ecosystem. This pop-up at The Hyundai Seoul marks the first offline demonstration of that project. Building on the capabilities it has established in the toy industry, SONOKONG CO., LTD. plans to reduce its reliance on overseas brand licenses and expand its business into an IP ecosystem that collaborates with domestic creators.
Industry observers note that while there are many art toy and character IP platforms, only a limited number of companies are capable of mass-producing creators’ ideas into actual products and connecting them to the global market. SONOKONG CO., LTD. explains that, because it possesses integrated capabilities—having directly managed planning, production management, quality control (QC), and distribution—it can alleviate the burdens creators face during mass production, quality control, and global distribution.
Lupop has been operating the Lupop Gallery at its headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, to gauge consumer response and market potential. This pop-up at The Hyundai Seoul marks the first instance of expanding a model validated through this test bed into large-scale distribution channels.
Starting with this pop-up, SONOKONG CO., LTD. plans to sequentially implement four major business models centered on a creator alliance, an IP universe, retail validation, and global branding. The structure involves expanding SONOKONG CO., LTD.’s Heroes from an art toy-centric platform into a network that includes character, game, and content creators; connecting individual artists’ standalone IPs to the SONOKONG-branded K-IP Universe; and then validating the response through offline distribution channels before expanding into overseas markets.
Cha Hyun-il, CEO of SONOKONG CO., LTD. and LUPOP, stated, “Based on the results of this event, we plan to expand our offline exhibitions and pop-ups to link verified K-IPs to merchandising, licensing, and global distribution.”