Pop Mart, the Chinese toy maker behind the viral Labubu doll, now has bigger dreams, a Disney-style theme park.

The company revealed it is exploring everything from animation to potential theme parks, aiming to turn Labubu’s massive fan following into a lasting global franchise.

Pop Mart’s executive director Si De said the company takes inspiration from Disney’s success with Mickey Mouse.

“We have learned from Disney for a long time. In fact, Disney’s great value lies in its ability to operate intellectual property over the long term, even up to 100 years,” he said.

Designed in 2015 by Hong Kong illustrator Kasing Lung, the Labubu character accounts for nearly 35% of Pop Mart’s revenue in 2025.

Its viral appeal also triggered a nearly 200% jump in Pop Mart’s shares this year, briefly making the company more valuable than Hasbro, Mattel, and Sanrio combined.

Pop Mart also plans to expand Labubu through content collaborations and merchandise. The goal is to build original IP with the potential to last generations.

Overall, the company hopes to double down on Labubu, expanding its storylines, deepening collaborations, and elevating it into a cultural icon.

BTS leader RM is set to bring his passion for art to one of America’s most renown museums.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announced an upcoming exhibition titled ‘RM x SFMoMA,’ which will feature around 200 works from RM’s personal collection alongside the museum’s own masterpieces.

Opening in October 2026 and running through February 2027, the show marks the first time RM’s collection will be displayed publicly in the United States. 

The exhibition will be co-curated by RM with SFMoMA curators América Castillo and Kim Hyo-eun.

RM’s personal collection includes works by celebrated Korean artists such as Yun Hyong-keun, Park Re-hyun, and Chang Ucchin.

These will be shown alongside pieces by international icons like Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Martin, and Paul Klee.

This isn’t the first time RM has shaken up the art world. In 2020, he was named ‘Art Sponsor of the Year’ by the Arts Council Korea for supporting local exhibitions.

A year later, his $71,530 donation helped restore a royal hwarot robe from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

This collaboration further highlights RM’s growing influence in the global art scene.

“We live in an age defined by boundaries. This exhibition at SFMoMA reflects those boundaries, between East and West, Korea and America, the modern and the contemporary, the personal and the universal,” said RM.

For the first time in its 323-year history, Yale University is adding Tagalog courses to its curriculum.

This fall, students can take ‘Elementary Filipino I’ and ‘Intermediate Filipino I.’ This marks the school’s first structured Filipino language program beyond independent study programs.

The new Tagalog courses come after years of effort from ‘Kasama,’ a Filipino student group, and the ‘Tagalog@Yale campaign.’

Their push included a petition with more than 380 signatures and support from the Yale College Council, showing strong demand for Filipino to be part of the Ivy League university’s program.

Before this, students could only study Tagalog through an independent program with no credits and few resources.

Now, with official courses under the Council on Southeast Asia Studies, they can earn credits, follow structured lessons, and connect more deeply with the Filipino language and its culture.

Students and faculty alike hope this launch will pave the way for a broader Filipino Studies program, including literature, history, and cultural courses.

For now, the offering is being celebrated as a victory for visibility and inclusion, giving both heritage speakers and non-Filipinos a space to connect with Tagalog.