Busan introduces a new character 'Boogi' to help promote the city

A new city of Busan character named “Boogi” has begun in earnest his work communicating with citizens.

The character design and name for Boogi — short for “Busan Galmegi” or Busan Seagull — was chosen through a citizen survey last November. He is working as an intern for the city’s New Media Office.

His back story reveals that he was awakened at the time of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup when Hwang Sun-hong’s first goal against Poland at Asiad Stadium brought on a thunderous cheer from the crowd and gave Korea its first World Cup victory.

The city will produce a 10-part YouTube entertainment series featuring Booki for him to discuss select keywords and introduce Busan destinations on the city’s official channel.

The city also operates an Instagram account (@boogi_in_busan) to promote two-way communication.

On the 17th, the city will also distribute Booki emoticons to 50,000 people through its KakaoTalk channel.