Public Mascots That Gave Away Free Emoticons in 2024

In 2024, Cheongju National Museum, Seoul's Yangcheon District, Gunsan City and the Gyeonggi Northern Autonomous Police Committee gave away free character emoticons. Several of them handed out the free emoticons through KakaoTalk channels, and some set a fixed number and gave them out on a first-come, first-served basis. The organizations that released emoticons varied widely, from a museum and a district office to a local government festival and an autonomous police body.

Cheongju National Museum: Musi, the Museum Cat

In 2024, Cheongju National Museum gave away 16 free emoticons of its museum characters Musi and Eomji on its KakaoTalk channel. Musi is a character modeled on a cat that lives at the museum. News of the giveaway was posted on February 7, 2024, in the news section of the National Museum of Korea website. In effect, a cat living at the museum became the museum's character, and then became an emoticon that moved into chat windows.

Yangcheon District, Seoul: Bolppangppang Haeuri

On August 30, 2024, Seoul's Yangcheon District announced it would give 16 free Bolppangppang Haeuri emoticons to 25,000 people who newly added its KakaoTalk channel. Yangcheon District's characters are Haenuri and Haeuri. The emoticons were given to people who newly added the channel.

Gunsan City: Jidongi, the Time Travel Festival Character

Gunsan City, Jeonbuk State, gave away free emoticons of Jidongi, the Time Travel Festival character, starting September 2, 2024. Gunsan City announced the news on September 1, 2024. Jidongi is based on a child who loves cosplaying in modern-era costumes, and has been the character of the Gunsan Time Travel Festival since 2022. It is a case of a festival character also appearing as emoticons.

Gyeonggi Northern Autonomous Police Committee: Animated Duriduri

The Gyeonggi Northern Autonomous Police Committee said on September 12, 2024, that it would release 16 animated emoticons of its official mascot, Duriduri. They were given free on its KakaoTalk channel to the first 25,000 people. The emoticons were made in an animated format rather than as still images.

Three of the four released sets of 16 emoticons. Yangcheon District and the Gyeonggi Northern Autonomous Police Committee, the two that disclosed quantities, each gave emoticons to 25,000 people. The characters featured also differed, from a museum cat to a district character, a festival character and an autonomous police mascot.