By Honorary Reporter Myrtle Iris Villaraza from Philippines
Photos = Unpop

Based in Philadelphia, Unpop is a stop-motion animation studio founded in 2013 by Marie Hart and her husband Peter Heacock. 

The company has gained recognition for its videos featuring Tiny Grandma, who was introduced on social media through a short stop-motion clip showing her cooking dumplings for Christmas. The video has since attracted 9.1 million views and some 337,000 likes on Instagram. 

The studio has released other videos of the character cooking and sharing Korean recipes. Viewers have praised the quality of the animation and the charater, often asking about the recipes.

Hart said, "We get so much excellent feedback from people who grew up with an immigrant grandma. Hispanic, Italian, Indian, Filipino—they all loved to feed their families."

The following are excerpts from an email interview with Hart from June 11-26.  

Tiny Grandma has attracted quite a following on Instagram.

Hart said her husband started posting videos of their son, and this eventually turned into their livelihood. With both of them having an educational background in film and fine arts, the couple started making animated videos featuring their own characters. 

Heacock has a bachelor's in film studies from New York University and Hart one in crafts from the University of the Arts and a master's in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

"Having your grandma cook for you is something many people have stories and memories about," she said when asked how the idea of Tiny Grandma came up.

The character was inspired by Hart's Korean mother and grandmother. She said Tiny Grandma mirrors their appearances and evokes fond memories of them.

Hart's mother immigrated to the US after marrying her American father, who was from New Jersey and was stationed in Korea in the 1970s.

Hart's love for Korean food and her husband's passion for cooking inspired them to start sharing Korean recipes in their videos, with Tiny Grandma demonstrating how to make them.

Tiny Grandma was inspired by Marie Hart's Korean mother.

Despite lasting mere seconds to under a minute, the videos often demand a lot of time and effort to make. When filming a clip with Tiny Grandma, the couple aim to complete it within three days, focusing on accuracy and entertainment for viewers.

Hart also said they receive many comments on how Tiny Grandma reminds people of their grandmothers. The plan is to add the character Tiny Samchon (Uncle).

Peter Heacock and Marie Hart

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.