South Korea's Mascot Awards: Who Runs Them and What They Pick

South Korea has several events that pick mascots, but each has its own entrants and selection method.

Korea Local Government and Public Character Festival

The Korea Culture Content Licensing Association and Daejeon Tourism Organization hold it together, with sponsorship from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is open to characters of local governments, public institutions, local public corporations and agencies, and festivals. Winners are chosen by combining a public online vote with expert judging.

In 2025, 33 characters reached the finals and Gimhae's Todeogi won the grand prize. The ceremony was held on Sept. 13 that year at the Daejeon Convention Center. In 2026, the number of finalists grew to 74, and voting ran from July 20 to Aug. 21. The 2026 grand prize went to Hwangbagi of Hampyeong.

Korea Character Awards

Digital Chosun Ilbo hosts the awards, with sponsorship from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Creative Content Agency and others. It is not limited to public characters and covers characters in general. At the Nov. 25, 2025 ceremony, Busan's Boogi and the Korea Racing Authority's Malma Friends won the grand prize.

K League Mascot Class President Election

The Korea Professional Football League held this fan vote for club mascots. In the first edition in 2020, mascots of 22 clubs from the first and second divisions took part, and winners were chosen by fan votes alone from Feb. 17 to 25. Voters had to log in to prevent multiple accounts, and interim results were not released from Feb. 23.

Separate Stages

Current awards are divided by entrant type: public characters, the character industry and professional clubs. Local, corporate and club mascots have rarely competed on the same stage.