Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City’s Communication Character ‘Boogi’ Wins the Grand Prize at the 2025 Korea Character Awards

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that its communication character, Boogi, won the Grand Prize at the 2025 Korea Character Awards held yesterday (November 25), earning the title of the nation’s top character.

Hosted by Digital Chosun Ilbo and sponsored by Chosun Ilbo, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property, and the Korea Creative Content Agency, the awards evaluate characters based on creativity, popularity, industrial value, and global scalability. Boogi received high marks across all categories and was ultimately selected as the Grand Prize winner.

Boogi is a character inspired by the seagull, a symbol of Busan, and reflects the city’s history and regional identity. Based on strong citizen engagement, Boogi has engaged in various activities that express the vibrancy, humor, and warmth of Busan.

In particular, Boogi has excelled in communicating regional issues, public messages, and local industry information in a friendly manner, which earned high praise in the categories of popularity and communication.

Boogi has also been recognized for becoming a core urban brand asset through diverse collaborations and content activities both online and offline.

Major examples of Boogi’s enhanced industrial value and scalability include nationwide distribution of the “Jagalchi Boogi” package in collaboration with Lotte Shopping and Nongshim; an overseas fan meeting held in Taipei, Taiwan; the production of BoogiTube short films; and citizen-participation content initiatives.

Meanwhile, in 2021 the city became the first local government in the country to fully open Boogi’s character copyrights free of charge, supporting local small and medium-sized enterprises in utilizing intellectual property (IP).
In 2023, the city established a paid transaction system by registering Boogi’s IP on the IP trading platform “Witshop.”
This year, Busan launched the Boogi Town store on NAVER Smart Store, integrating sales channels for companies using Boogi’s IP. Sixteen companies are currently participating, with approximately 200 products being systematically distributed and managed.

City Spokesperson Won Young-il stated, “This Grand Prize confirms that Boogi is more than just a character—it is a recognized communication asset embedded in the daily lives of Busan citizens. Moving forward, we will continue to expand citizen-participatory content and strengthen collaboration with various companies to further develop Boogi as a global urban brand asset.”