As the Lunar New Year approaches, China is decorated in red and gold to celebrate the Year of the Horse. During this time, a small horse plush toy unexpectedly became a viral sensation. The toy was originally designed to smile and bring good fortune. However, a factory worker accidentally sewed the faces upside down, creating a horse with a sad, frowning expression.
Photos of the sad-looking toy were shared on social media, and people quickly fell in love with it. The toy was named “Cry Cry Horse” or “Kukuma” and began selling extremely fast, with around 15,000 units sold every day. Many people said the toy reflected how they feel about modern life.
On platforms like Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, videos of the Cry Cry Horse were viewed more than 200 million times. Office workers, especially younger generations, related to the toy because they feel tired, stressed, and underpaid. One user said the horse looked as sad as they feel at work.
Because of its popularity, fake versions of the toy started appearing online. Surprisingly, the worker who made the mistake was rewarded with a cash bonus. What started as a simple error became a symbol of shared emotions and turned the Cry Cry Horse into an icon of today’s stressed society.
Vocabulary:
• plushie (noun): a soft toy made of fabric
• mascot (noun): a symbol that brings good luck
• sew (verb): to join fabric with thread
• frown (verb/noun): a sad or unhappy facial expression
• viral (adj): spreading very fast on the internet
• hashtag (noun): a word used online to group content
• knockoff (noun): a cheap copy of a product
• stagnant (adj): not growing or changing
• bonus (noun): extra money given as a reward
• demand (noun): how much people want to buy something