Nonsan's 'Berry Friends' Sell Out All 1,000 Festival Goods

Goods featuring 'Berry Friends,' the strawberry characters of Nonsan City, South Chungcheong Province, sold out at the 2026 Strawberry Festival, with all 1,000 prepared items gone. More than 2,000 more were later sold through reservations. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the news on April 11, 2026.

Purchases were limited to two items per person, but requests to sell the goods online kept coming.

Berry Friends is a set of three characters unveiled on January 13, 2026. They are the strawberry fairies Sweetbell, Kingsbell and Vitabell, named after Nonsan strawberry brands. Sweetbell is the lead, and Kingsbell and Vitabell join as members. The three characters were developed through a 2025 open call for culture and tourism festival project support by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization. Local Today reported the unveiling of Berry Friends on January 13, 2026.

The same article also cited Maedori, the plum character of Gwangyang City, South Jeolla Province, as an example of a character that drew a strong response at a festival. Besides Berry Friends, Nonsan City's characters also include Yukgun Byeongjang, Meokbo Ttalgi, Ttalgi Yojeong, Ttalgimon and Ttalgi Kkulbeol.