Mascots of 2023

30 stories · by event date

2026 2025 2024 2023

December

Bukhansan Forest Character Photo Zone Opens in Gangbuk District Office Lobby

A Gangbaek mascot costume hosted the unveiling ceremony. Gangbaek is a native fox character from Bukhansan, created in August.

Archive · Dec 5, 2023

Business · Feature

Brand Characters That Fronted Pop-Up Stores in 2023

From SK Telecom's A. to Sunyang's Whale, four brands from different industries opened character pop-ups within four months.

Archive · Dec 2023

Local · Feature

Research and Public Institutions That Got New Mascots in 2023

Several institutions, including the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (Tumyeongi) and the Ministry of Personnel Management (Gwidami), introduced new mascots in 2023. Many built their work into the character.

Archive · Dec 2023

November

Local

National Fire Agency Introduces 119 Rescue Dog Character Ilgu

The National Fire Agency has introduced a 119 rescue dog character that the public chose and named. It is giving away 40 free emoticons on KakaoTalk and Naver.

Archive · Nov 30, 2023

Brands

Saramin VTuber Rahi Holds Joint Broadcast With Iksan City's Seodong

A corporate VTuber and a local government VTuber shared one screen. Together they introduced youth employment policies.

Archive · Nov 21, 2023

Brands · Feature

Corporate Mascots in 2023, From Animation to Giant Sculptures

Five companies, from financial firms to a builder and a duty-free operator, put their characters to work in 2023. They used animation, emoticons and large sculptures.

Archive · Nov 2023

October

Local

Senior Culture Program Culture Youth Unveils Characters Sini and Eoni

Sini is a rabbit and Eoni is a flower stalk. Put together, their names make "senior," a word for older adults.

Archive · Oct 24, 2023

Business

Toss Opens Preorders for Two Catch Plush Toys, Limited to 5,000 Each

Catch, the chick character in the Toss app, is now available as two plush toys. About 540,000 people took part in a vote to choose the design.

Archive · Oct 18, 2023

Local

Busan Port Authority Unveils Costume of Orca Character Haebeomi

The Busan Port Authority (BPA) has made its orca-inspired characters Haebeomi and Ppuppu into wearable costumes. It plans to use them for on-site marketing at Haeundae Beach and Busan Citizens Park.

Archive · Oct 6, 2023

September

People

Gwangju Girls' Commercial High School Unveils Statue of Student-Made Mascot Yugyeongsim

A student team for promotional innovation created the mascot. The school now uses it on YouTube, Instagram and merchandise to promote itself.

Archive · Sep 21, 2023

Local

Gwangyang's Maedori Named City Promotional Ambassador

Maedori, a plum character created in 2010, received an official title 13 years later. It also reached the finals of the Our Neighborhood Character Awards.

Archive · Sep 19, 2023

Local

Paju Installs 3-Meter Statues of Gyeonggi Sports Festival Mascot Parang

Paju City has put up statues of the mascot Parang a year ahead of the event. They stand at Geumchon Rotary and the Imjingak roundabout.

Archive · Sep 15, 2023

August

Local

Yangpyeong County Unveils Tourism Character Yangchuni, Created by Its Own Officials

Yangpyeong County has unveiled Yangchuni, a sheep-shaped tourism character. County officials planned and created it themselves.

Archive · Aug 22, 2023

Local · Feature

University Mascots in 2023: New Names, New Designs

Daelim University named Daeungi through a contest, and Hanyang University renewed HYlion. Korea Maritime & Ocean University and Masan University introduced new mascots.

Archive · Aug 2023

July

Local · Brief

Jindo County Friends Characters Opened Under Korea Open Government License

Jindo County opened its Jindo County Friends characters under the Korea Open Government License (KOGL) two years after creating them. Anyone can use them under the license terms.

Archive · Jul 17, 2023

Business

Daewoo E&C's Manager Daewoo Jeong Joins Character Licensing Fair

Daewoo E&C opened a Daewoo Jeong booth at a character licensing fair. All proceeds from merchandise sales will be donated.

Archive · Jul 14, 2023

Local · Feature

Five Seoul Districts and the Characters They Introduced in 2023

From Gangdong District's Ums Friends to Dongdaemun District's DIDIMI, the characters start from each district's bird, flower and historic sites.

Archive · Jul 2023

June

People

Turtle Character Ungji Wins Top Prize in Dong-Eui University Contest of 132 Entries

The turtle character Ungji took the grand prize among 132 entries. The excellence award went to Dongui, also from the same department.

Archive · Jun 13, 2023

Local

Gangwon State Unveils Mascots Gangwoni and Teukbyeori for Its Launch

Gangwon State released the characters together with a new CI and a dedicated typeface to mark its launch. The designs, developed with the Gangwon Design Promotion Agency, were selected for a Good Design award.

Archive · Jun 9, 2023

May

Brands

Woori Card Uses Mascot Dini in Webtoon to Introduce AI Voice Bot Service

Woori Card made its digital-only character Dini the lead of a webtoon. The webtoon introduces the company's AI voice bot customer service.

Archive · May 8, 2023

Local · Brief

Kyungil University's Beuri Joins Hannover Messe in Germany

Kyungil University's character Beuri took part in the Hannover Messe industrial fair in Germany as a 3D character. It promoted the school at the overseas event.

Archive · May 2, 2023

Sports

Four Public Mascots Back Gun Syuung in K League Class President Election

Four public mascots, including Gimcheon's Osami, joined the K League mascot class president election. They backed Gimcheon Sangmu FC's Gun Syuung.

Archive · May 1, 2023

April

Local

Chuncheon Mime Festival's Mongdori Meets Puppet Festival's Cocobau

Mongdori of the Chuncheon Mime Festival and Cocobau of the Chuncheon Puppet Festival teamed up for the Samsamoo Project. Both festivals marked their 35th anniversary together.

Archive · Apr 21, 2023

Local

Yangcheon Cultural Center's Munaon Costume Holds Photo Time on Children's Class Day

Munaon, the mascot of Yangcheon Cultural Center, appeared in costume for a surprise photo time. The center also has a permanent photo zone on the second floor of its building.

Archive · Apr 14, 2023

March

Local

KRRI Character Kring Unveiled as a Sculpture at 27th Anniversary

The character has a honeybee body and a face shaped like the front of a train. First introduced in 2022, it became a three-dimensional sculpture the following year.

Archive · Mar 21, 2023

Brands · Brief

Aden Boulangerie Launches Denden Size, Named After Its Character Dendeni

The company put the name of its signature character Dendeni into a product name. The name is used to signal a larger size.

Archive · Mar 14, 2023

February

Local

Eumseong County Mascot Geodori Gets a New Standard Design

The mascot personifies the turtle from a traditional folk game, the turtle game. The county also released free emoticons to mark the redesign.

Archive · Feb 22, 2023

Brands · Brief

Scatter Lab Launches AI Chatbot Character Daon Kang

The character is set up as a 25-year-old male art student. His face is a virtual human designed to look like a real person.

Archive · Feb 2023

January

Brands · Brief

Visang Education's Vivasam Holds Contest for a Teacher Representative Character

Vivasam sought a teacher representative character based on a beaver. The contest ran for one month from January 12, 2023.

Archive · Jan 12, 2023

News · Feature

Five Mascot Stories That Opened 2023: January in Review

From a tiger brother and sister in Songpa District to a wedding at the Inje Smelt Festival, these were the mascot stories of January 2023.

Archive · Jan 2023