Buyeo County Unveils Geumdongi Friends Modeled on Gilt-Bronze Incense Burner

Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province, said on January 22, 2024 that it had developed new friends characters Geumdongi, Geumyongi and Geumhwangi. All three are based on the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje, and their names share the syllable "Geum."

The three characters came out of a preference survey of 1,000 residents that the county ran before finalizing them.

Geumdongi, the lead character, is a personification of the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje. The county placed Geumdongi at the center of its new friends lineup for 2024, using it for policy promotion and its own merchandise, and also sending it out to festivals.

The new characters were also released as emoticons. On February 6, 2024, Buyeo County announced it would give away KakaoTalk emoticons of the new characters for free, with distribution starting on February 7. News of both the character development and the emoticon giveaway was posted in the news section of the county's website.

Besides the Geumdongi friends, Buyeo County's characters include Hyangi, Prince Seodong, Princess Seonhwa and Gutteuri.