Jong Il Choi (최종일?) is the creator of the Flowering Heart series. He was born November 5, 1965. He is the president and CEO of Iconix Entertainment, which produces the series.

Choi is best known as the creator of Pororo, a cartoon penguin which is a global hit.

Choi feels the cartoon's success stems from the fact the penguin and his adventures are all about a kid's daily life, in contrast to western cartoons' penchant for "idealistic" themes, such as saving the world or fighting justice or showing extraordinary bravery. Pororo's popularity has nicknamed the character, "the children's president in south korea".

He opened his first Pororo Park (Korean: 뽀로로 파크) in Seoul five years ago, bringing the total to seven Pororo Parks in South Korea, while there are currently three in China. He was recently in Singapore to open the South-east Asia's first Pororo Park at Marina Square on November 11, 2015.