Corporate and Club Mascots Team Up With Sports Teams in 2026

Throughout 2026, corporate characters and club characters were active in and around sports venues. Their approaches varied, from scoreboard events and promotional booths to collaboration merchandise, character days and new mascot launches.

Malhaeboca's Chu on the SSG Landers scoreboard

Epopsoft, which runs the AI English learning app Malhaeboca, partnered with SSG Landers for the 2026 season. It held a "Say It With Your Body Malhaeboca" event on the Landers Field scoreboard and distributed an "SSG Landers Chu" collection for free inside the app. Chu is a rabbit and Malhaeboca's signature character. It launched as a collectible character in January 2025. Malhaeboca passed 10 million downloads as of March 2026.

Hana Insurance's Byeoljanggun at Daejeon Hana Citizen home games

Hana Insurance, an affiliate of Hana Financial Group, opened a promotional booth at a Daejeon Hana Citizen home game in March 2026. The company mascot Byeoljanggun appeared at the booth in costume, and the company shared news from the event on its official blog.

Everland's Lessy teams up with Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Everland partnered with Suwon Samsung Bluewings in May 2026 for a Lessy and Aquileon collaboration. It released a webtoon and about 20 types of merchandise and held an Everland Day. In June, it held a "Football and Taco" hands-on event and arranged a photo session with Jack from Lenny and Friends dressed as a soccer player.

SSG Landers' Kkamja Day

SSG Landers ran its June 3, 2026, game against Kiwoom as "Kkamja Day." The day featured Kkamja, the club's emoticon character, with scoreboard displays, a ceremonial first pitch and a merchandise pop-up. On the same day, the club released uniforms, plush toys, key rings and other products to launch its new mascot.

IBK Altos' new mascots Torangi and Tori

The Hwaseong IBK Altos volleyball team posted a video introducing its new mascots, Torangi and Tori, on its official YouTube channel on October 31, 2026. The two mascots began their activities with the team's send-off ceremony for the 2026-2027 season. Torangi is the fox character from the club's corporate identity, relaunched as a new mascot with the backstory of a young volleyball hopeful. Tori is a squirrel character who serves as Torangi's personal coach.