China's rabbit-eared character 'Labubu' stirs global craze, social issues
Labubu, known for its rabbitlike ears, big eyes and jagged teeth, is popular for its seemingly unpleasant look, with fans describing it as "ugly and cute." According to Beijing-based toy giant Pop Mart, the character was created in 2015 by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung and is portrayed as a cat-sized forest sprite.
Labubu also enjoys immense popularity in Southeast Asia. When this reporter visited a Pop Mart store in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on July 8, it was crowded with families and women snapping up Labubu goods even past 8 p.m.
It was Lisa, a Thai member of K-pop quartet Blackpink, who ignited the Labubu boom. Her post on social media of a photo of the character in 2024 swept it to global stardom. It is said that the craze initially spread across Southeast Asia, primarily in Thailand, before reaching European and U.S. soil.
The global Labubu phenomenon boosted Pop Mart's sales overseas to about 5.07 billion yuan (approx. 101.3 billion yen) in 2024, up nearly fivefold from some 1.07 billion yuan the year before. Meanwhile, there has been a spate of bulk purchasing of Labubu goods worldwide for the purpose of reselling them. Other social issues have also been reported, such as crowding and fighting when people go to buy Labubu, as well as thefts of the items.
While there are some reports that the overhype surrounding Labubu has made the boom go downhill, the universal phenomenon has shown that China is shifting from being "the world's factory" churning out quality products at low cost to becoming a global trend-setter.
(Japanese original by Tetsuro Hatakeyama, China General Bureau)
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