As China is soon entering the Year of the Horse, which symbolizes vitality and diligence among the twelve zodiac signs, an unexpected trend has emerged indicating that many Chinese people are not feeling the festive atmosphere associated with the Year of the Horse.
The Chinese government is facing challenges such as declining birth rates, bleak employment prospects, and occupational burnout. Therefore, it’s not surprising that a flawed plush toy has gained popularity in China recently. The “Crying Horse (Kukuma)” toy has unwittingly become a symbol of confusion for a generation, with its perpetually downward-turned mouth.
Produced by the Happy Sister toy store in Yiwu, this red pony toy was supposed to have a wide grin, but due to a factory error, it now wears a look of despair. The horse’s mouth was sewn upside down, giving the horse an appearance of profound sadness.
The popularity of “Kukuma” reflects just a fragment of the despondent emotions prevailing in Chinese society. With the economy slowing down, people are feeling lost about the future, and this sense of despondency seems to be intensifying.
“People jokingly say that the crying little horse represents how you look when you’re working, while the smiling little horse represents how you look after work,” said Zhang Huoqing, the owner of the Happy Sister toy store, to Reuters.
By mid-January, the store was receiving over 15,000 orders daily, prompting the factory to add 10 production lines.
According to CNBC, Gao Lan runs a toy store in Beijing. “The societal pressure is too great now,” Gao said. “The crying horse reflects people’s inner feelings.”
A netizen named Tuantu Mama wrote in an online post cited by the South China Morning Post, “This pony looks so sad, just like how I feel at work.”
Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, told Business Insider, “Consumer goods and internet memes can become outlets for discussing work pressure, especially on platforms like Xiaohongshu, where consumer culture and emotional expression are tightly intertwined.”
Another indicator of this depressive mood is the globally popular app “Am I Dead Yet.”
Created as a “living alone safety reminder” tool, users must set emergency contacts and check in every two days to confirm they are still alive. If a user fails to check in for two consecutive days, the system automatically contacts their designated emergency contacts.
Co-founder Ian Lü explained to CNBC that all the founders had lived alone in major Chinese cities and understood the importance of staying connected with others.
“We realized that if something happened to us, no one would know. So we developed this app to allow users to notify their family or friends,” Lü said in an interview.
Despite the high demand, the app faced criticism from Chinese official media shortly after its launch and was later renamed “Demumu” by its founders. However, the app has since been removed from the App Store.
Apple told CNBC that the Chinese internet watchdog ordered the app to be taken down for not complying with regulations aimed at maintaining “public order and good morals.” Apple added in a statement, “We abide by the laws of the operating country… The app is still available for download on all other app stores.”
The younger generation in China is facing pressures ranging from a sluggish real estate sector to persistently high youth unemployment rates or underemployment. Remaining silent and enduring these conditions has not proven effective, and many young people who moved to cities for work do not have siblings or partners.
China’s marriage rate hit a historic low of 4.3% in 2024, the lowest in 45 years. In China, one out of every six households is a single-person household, making privacy booths in restaurants like those at McDonald’s increasingly popular.
These partitioned seats, allowing individuals to dine alone in privacy, are not a new concept. However, their photos went viral on social media. This design is seen as a response to the growing trend of solitary living among more Chinese people.
It’s in this atmosphere of loneliness and anxiety that the sobbing horse appears particularly poignant.
“This place is filled with bitterness and injustice,” said Xiao Juan, a customer at Gao Lan’s toy store, to CNBC. “If you can’t cry out loud, this horse can cry for you.”
According to a Reuters report, Ms. Zhang still couldn’t figure out who sewed the horse’s mouth wrongly. “Since we can’t ascertain whose fault it is exactly, let’s just give everyone a bonus,” she said.