So I mean, on the whole, I think she was very unique as a person.” But that’s very usual for people who have to be in the public eye. “Because she became quite famous during her lifetime, I think she had a different public persona, than at home, privately. “She was a very nice and warm person,” said Jansson. Right: A campaign poster painted by Tove Jansson is on display at the museum. Left: Sophia Jansson, niece of Tove Jansson and president of Oy Moomin Characters. 1, the opening day of the exhibition, Jansson expressed her admiration and adoration towards her aunt and the exhibition of her works. In an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Sept. The Moomins were said to have been created for young Sophia Jansson by the unwed artist who loved her niece dearly, and Sophia Jansson grew up with the creatures. “The Moomins have been around me since the day I was born,” said Sophia Jansson, niece of Tove Jansson and president of Oy Moomin Characters, the copyright owner of the Moomin characters. The exhibition has seven sections, including content that shows the series’ creation, cartoon versions, paintings by Tove Jansson and more diverse experiences such as moving animations. There are over 200,000 Instagram posts with the hashtag Moomin in hangul, showing the series’ popularity in the country.Īs this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Finnish Declaration of Independence in 1918, it adds a meaningful touch to the opening of the exhibition, co-organized by the Finnish Embassy. The series was then revised and released by Jakkajungsin in 2010.ĭespite their long history in Korea, it wasn’t until 2014 that the cute round trolls really started to gain popularity here. The Korean translations were first published by Hangilsa in 1997. It has been over 65 years since the story of the lovable troll was first translated into English in 1952, fueling the characters’ popularity outside of their European birthplace.

The first of the Moomin series, “The Moomins and the Great Flood,” was published in 1945 and written and illustrated by Tove Jansson (1914-2001), a Finnish-Swedish artist. She was very close to nature, very peaceful.” Tove Jansson (1914-2001) used to live on a secluded island with her partner “with no electricity and no running water,” said Sophia Jansson, her niece, “but she was very happy there.

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