"A Message about the Environment from Nungnunge, Which Wants to be the Most Famous Snowman in the World

Cho Chang-won (Business ‘11), CEO of Nungnunge

As interest in ESG is heating up, the Catholic University of Korea recently held a “Carbon Neutrality Declaration Ceremony” and promised to become a green campus. 

But there is an alumnus who has been taking the initiative in raising environmental awareness since four years ago, 

and that person is Cho Chang-won, who is now a respectable CEO of Nungnunge. 

“Nungnunge,” a character born from doodles

Nungnunge is a character design company that raises environmental awareness and was selected as a preliminary social enterprise by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and a start-up company by the Ministry of SMEs and Start-ups. It’s also the name of the snowman character the company created with concerns about the destruction of the environment. Nungnunge, which was first created from doodles, has become the main character of the company, and it is actively working based on the scenario that it is exploring the green earth to save its friends who are in danger due to global warming.

“Nungnunge is not a carefully planned and created character. It started with random doodles. One time, during the final exam, I had dinner with Lee Yoon-joo (Business Administration, Psychology ‘15), and while we were on our way back to the library after having dinner, we sat on a couch to take a break because we were so full. I had a sudden urge to doodle. I always took notes but never doodled. So it was quite random. Among the various doodles, my favorite was Nungnunge.”

Telling the world about the environmental problem

If you look at Nungnunge, you will notice how it is missing a nose, unlike other snowman characters. You would simply think that it doesn't have a nose, but it was actually to keep it away from breathing in polluted air. Then, since when did Cho begin his project to tell the world about the environmental problem? He answered that it all began with his trip to Vietnam.

“I went on a trip to Vietnam at the time when I was creating a story about the character one by one. When I got there, what I saw was a polluted marine ecosystem, not the beautiful vacation spot that I had imagined before I left. Then I thought this wouldn’t be the only place facing this problem. With this as an opportunity, I began to design a project with CEO Lee that will inform the world about the environmental problems.”

After deciding to design a project that would talk about environmental problems, the two got into deep thinking for a while. Since the keyword, environment, was a serious topic for everyone, they wanted to make it fun yet informative for the public.

“After a long consideration, we decided to deliver our message about the environment through a character. Since CEO Lee and I always wanted to build a brand of our own, we developed Nungnunge from my doodle into a character and built a business based on it. Now, based on the background story where it's exploring the planet to save friends who are in danger because of global warming, we are diligently collaborating with corporations to introduce the value of the environment to the public, and we have published Nungnunge's drawing diary monthly as a content to media and conveyed our message about environmental protection to 500,00 viewers every month. I hope that everyone who meets Nungnunge will experience a change in his or her value to think about the importance of the environment.” 

A project with his alma mater that quenched his thirst for communication

Cho Chang-won, who has been actively collaborating with various corporations, has joined hands with his alma mater, the Catholic University of Korea. He is developing merchandise products to give out to the current students participating in the event and middle and high school students who participate in the campus tour. 

“Actually, I was hesitant as I first got the call out of the blue. I was given less than ten days to make the merchandise products since they had to be ready before the festival. I had to start by designing the merchandise, so I didn't know where to start. What was worse was that it was around the Chuseok holidays, so I was not sure if I would be able to make it. However, I thought this could be an opportunity for me to communicate with the university. It was sad that there were fewer and fewer opportunities to talk to my alma mater and students there. I thought this could be a chance to quench my thirst for communication. As a result, it received a positive reception, and I was also satisfied. The process of production was not so easy, but it was meaningful as I got to work with my alma mater.”

“Make a resolution. And act on it.”

When asked what advice he would like to give to the students who are preparing to start a business, he emphasized that they should make a resolution and act on it. There is something Cho always says when teaching others about starting a business. “It may look like everything will be rosy when you start your business, but in reality, things are tough.”

He added, “It seems like the world only talks about optimistic things about starting a business. The reality is that out of ten new businesses, nine close down. The images associated with entrepreneurs are freedom and financial power. And it even looks cool. Yet, starting your own business is not so easy. It's almost doing everything from scratch. What successful entrepreneurs have in common is that they work harder than anyone else. They need to stay awake and be diligent in order to turn their ideas into action. It's true that anyone can try, but I do not advise you to make a hasty move. Of course, starting a business is not something people who are fully ready can do. With enthusiasm and determination, you can also try. Words can’t describe how proud you would feel to see your business grow day by day. So before you start, you should make a resolution to always stay awake and turn your ideas into action.”

Cho Chang-won is working to inform people of the value of the environment and deliver social values. 

In addition to running the character business, he is active as a lecturer and mentor on entrepreneurship, environmental awareness improvement, career survey, and content education in various places, and he never stops trying to spread a positive impact to the world.

The Catholic University of Korea is lending its support to his aspirations to change the mindset of those who interact with Nungnunge to realize the crucial importance of the environment to become true.

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