Kakao will release its first animated series based on the Kakao Friends characters, the tech company announced Monday.

Titled "Muzi & Friends," the animation series will air every Saturday at 8 a.m. on kids' animation TV channel Tooniverse starting April 1. Each episode will be 6 minutes long, and 26 episodes will be revealed.

"Muzi & Friends" aims to help children between 3 and 5 years old understand and process the different emotions they feel in different contexts to "make children's minds healthier," according to Kakao.

Kakao Friends' characters will convey different emotions such as happiness, giddiness, pride, fear and sadness. New Kakao Friends Kids characters will also be introduced for the series, including Muzi's little sibling and twin sister.

A separate YouTube Kids channel for the series opened on Monday, to which trailers and behind-the-scenes videos will be uploaded.

"'Muzi & Friends' is Kakao Friends' first television animation series, and we worked hard to bring it to life," Kakao said in a press release, adding that the production took two years.

"We also hope to help the so-called Covid-kids [who were not given the chance to interact as much with other people] to become more aware of their emotions. We hope to help children grow with healthy minds."

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]