Local governments develop mascots to promote regions and revitalize local economy

A photo zone of KUMDORI is set up at the venue of the “Daejeon 0 O\'clock Festival” held in Jungang-ro, Daejeon from August 9 to 17.

In the waiting room of Daejeon Station, there is a space called “Traveling Daejeon with KUMDORI.” It serves as a tourist information center and sells merchandise of KUMDORI, the mascot of the 1993 Daejeon Expo. There is also a place called “KUMDORI House” at the entrance to the herbal medicine street in front of Daejeon Station, where KUMDORI merchandise are sold. Daejeon also set up a “Kum’s Family Promotion Center” and a photo zone at the venue of the “Daejeon 0 O'clock Festival” held from August 9 to 17, which was well received.

As such, more and more local governments are developing and promoting their symbolic characters. This is because they believe that their mascots can help promote the regions and revitalize the local economy, including tourism.

According to the Daejeon Tourism Organization on August 19, sales of KUMDORI merchandise reached 45 million won at three locations, including Daejeon Station, KUMDORI House, and Kum’s Family Promotion Center, during the “Daejeon 0 O'clock Festival.”

“Since we opened the store last month, the number of visitors has been steadily increasing, and sales during the festival have increased significantly,” said an employee at KUMDORI House. ”Some products, including KUMDORI dolls, ran out of stock sooner than expected, and we won't be able to restock until next month.”

Daejeon has been one of the most active local governments in recent years in using iconic characters to promote the region. For the 30th anniversary of the Daejeon Expo last year, the city developed a family character called “Kum’s Family” based on its mascot, KUMDORI and KUMSUNI, and is using them in all directions for city marketing.

To promote the characters, Daejeon operates taxis wrapped with KUMDORI and other characters of Kum’s Family, and also operates themed subway trains decorated with Kum’s Family. “If we expand the types and contents of characters and utilize them in city marketing, they can be a great city brand asset and help to enhance the city's image,” said Noh Ki-soo, head of the Daejeon Culture and Tourism Bureau.

There are a number of local governments that have already jumped into local marketing by utilizing mostcots and merchandise. Examples include "Joayong" in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, and "Bucheon Hands-up" in Bucheon, which created cute dragon characters based on the name of the regions.

Yongin recently opened a second merchandise store in the city hall, selling more than 90 kinds of character goods, after the Joayong merchandise shop, which opened in 2022, became popular. The city is also working to develop bread using local specialties and its character. Bucheon has also developed various goods and emoticons and is utilizing Bucheon Hands-up to promote the city. The two characters were also selected as winners of the “Our Neighborhood Character” contest organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency.

In the case of Busan's character “Boogi,” which looks like a seagull, it is known as a successful character that captures local symbolism and adds a story. Overseas, “Kumamon,” a character from Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is said to be attracting tourists by building specific storytelling and cute images and establishing itself as Japan's representative regional character. However, some point out that a planned utilization strategy is required for local government characters and merchandise to be effective.

Yoon Seol-min, a senior researcher at the Daejeon Sejong Institute, said, "In order for local government characters and merchandise to be effective, there should be a systematic roadmap for utilization through a step-by-step approach. It is necessary to secure a commercialization structure while promoting win-win and collaboration with the private sector and establishing a related ecosystem."

A Daejeon City official said, “Kum’s Family characters are currently being utilized according to a three-step strategy of development, fostering, and spreading. Starting with the production of merchandise and webtoons using the characters this year, we plan to diversify the areas of use by utilizing them in public designs, installing symbolic sculptures, and supporting the production of products in the private sector next year."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.