Hyodol

~$960 – $1,330 (₩1,300,000 – ₩1,800,000)

AvailableNot programmableElder careLLM chatLTEKorea only

Weeks+Shipping: Korea only.

Remote control: Not possible.

LEARN MORE (Hyodol store page, Korean) ↗

Overview

A talking grandchild doll with family alerts built in, for Korean speakers and sold only in Korea.

Hyodol is a soft doll styled as a seven-year-old grandchild, made in South Korea for older adults who live alone. It chats in Korean using generative AI, praises its owner and asks about sleep, mood, pain and plans twice a day. Medicine and meal reminders, quizzes, exercises and trot songs are set from a guardian app. Its radar and touch sensors log activity around the clock, and the app alerts family when something seems wrong.

The current 2.5 generation has LTE built in, so the user needs no Wi-Fi or smartphone. Asking Hyodol to make a call connects a voice call to a guardian, and the institutional version can reach emergency services (119). Hyodol Co. was founded in 2009, sold a Wi-Fi Hyodol from 2017 and added voice conversation with the second generation in 2023. Most dolls go out through Korean local governments, and the store ships only within Korea. It has no motors, and every feature except touch reactions stops when the service plan lapses.

Type: Companion robot · Desk & social robots
Maker: Hyodol Co. (South Korea)
Released: 2017
Price: ~$960 – $1,330 (₩1,300,000 – ₩1,800,000)
Status: Available
Best for: Ages 18+
Programming: No programmability

Versions compared

	Home, 2 years	Home, 3 years	Institutional, 2 years	Institutional, 3 years
Price	~$960 (₩1,300,000)	~$1,110 (₩1,500,000)	~$1,190 (₩1,600,000)	~$1,330 (₩1,800,000)
LTE and AI service included	2 years	3 years	2 years	3 years
AI conversation, reminders, activity alerts	●	●	●	●
Voice calls to a guardian	●	●	●	●
Emergency call to 119	–	–	●	●

Prices from the Hyodol official store, checked October 2026. Free repairs and return shipping are included while the service runs. After it ends the doll keeps only offline touch reactions, and the home version renews at ~$160 (₩220,000) a year. Home version FAQ ↗ · Institutional version FAQ ↗

Price and shipping

Hyodol official store prices, checked October 2026. The home version is ~$960 (₩1,300,000) with 2 years of LTE and AI service, or ~$1,110 (₩1,500,000) with 3 years. The institutional version, which adds emergency calls, is ~$1,190 (₩1,600,000) or ~$1,330 (₩1,800,000). The buyer keeps the doll, and the service renews at ~$160 (₩220,000) a year. Sold only in South Korea.

Shipping: Korea only. The official store ships within South Korea in 3–7 days, and orders placed before 3 p.m. leave the same day. No overseas sales are offered. Hyodol official store ↗

Specifications

Category	Companion robots · Desk & social robots
Released	2017
Country	South Korea
Availability	Available
Sales	About 10,000 supplied through about 160 Korean local governments since 2018 (estimate) Hyodol store page ↗
Programmability	No programmability
Built-in autonomy	Reactive · Responds to its surroundings without a map, such as avoiding obstacles or following a person
LLM support	Built-in LLM chat · Holds open Korean conversations through cloud generative AI while the LTE service plan is active. The product page credits ChatGPT, and an August 2026 store FAQ names Gemini. Without the plan only offline touch reactions remain. Hyodol store FAQ (Korean) ↗
Best for	Ages 18+ (estimated)
Vision sensors	No vision sensors
Actuators	None
Audio	Speaker, Microphone
Compute type	Proprietary / undisclosed
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	Plush doll (dimensions not published)
Drive	Does not move. No motors are documented
Compute	Not published. Built-in LTE (Cat. 4) modem, so it needs no Wi-Fi
Vision	None
Lidar	None (a radar sensor detects movement within 5 m, all around)
Sensors	Touch sensor on top of the head, press switches in the ears and hands, vibration sensor in the back for pats, radar motion sensor, mic, speaker
Runtime	Rechargeable battery, charged with its own charger through a zippered opening in the back (runtime not published)
Speed	N/A
SDK	None. A guardian app sets reminders, schedules and content

Common questions

How much does Hyodol cost?

Hyodol is listed at ~$960 – $1,330 (₩1,300,000 – ₩1,800,000). Hyodol official store prices, checked October 2026. The home version is ~$960 (₩1,300,000) with 2 years of LTE and AI service, or ~$1,110 (₩1,500,000) with 3 years. The institutional version, which adds emergency calls, is ~$1,190 (₩1,600,000) or ~$1,330 (₩1,800,000). The buyer keeps the doll, and the service renews at ~$160 (₩220,000) a year. Sold only in South Korea.

Can Hyodol be bought today?

Yes, it is on sale. The official store ships within South Korea in 3–7 days, and orders placed before 3 p.m. leave the same day. No overseas sales are offered.

Who makes Hyodol?

Hyodol is made by Hyodol Co. (South Korea). It came out in 2017.

Can Hyodol be programmed?

No programmability. None. A guardian app sets reminders, schedules and content.

Does Hyodol have AI chat or LLM support?

Built-in LLM chat. Holds open Korean conversations through cloud generative AI while the LTE service plan is active. The product page credits ChatGPT, and an August 2026 store FAQ names Gemini. Without the plan only offline touch reactions remain.