Jinju-si Hamo Donates Entire Grand Prize Money from National Character Contest Hosted by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Donation of 10 Million Won Prize Money to Future Generations Happiness Fund

Joo Kyu-il, Mayor of Jinju City, Gyeongnam, is holding a donation ceremony for the prize money from winning the grand prize at the Hamo National Character Competition.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Jinju City, Gyeongnam, designated and donated the entire prize money of 10 million won received by Jinju City’s tourism character ‘Hamo,’ which swept three categories including the grand prize at the 5th Our Neighborhood Character Awards hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 17th, to the Future Generation Happiness Fund.

On this day, Mayor Cho Gyu-il and Hamo held a donation ceremony to designate the prize money to the Future Generation Happiness Fund, which is operated for creating a happy educational city for children and fostering creative talents for a prosperous 100-year future of Jinju.

The prize money donated by Hamo will be used for scholarship support projects for elementary, middle, high school, and university students, as well as projects for the development of local education.

Jinju City’s tourism character Hamo won the grand prize among 110 characters nationwide at the 5th Our Neighborhood Character Awards hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency.

In addition to the grand prize, Hamo swept three out of four categories, including the Hot Star Award given to the character with the highest number of public votes and the Rising Award given to the character with the highest total score in the finals among those created since 2020, achieving a triple crown.

Hamo attended the Our Neighborhood Character Awards ceremony held on the 14th at the CK Corporate Support Center of the Korea Creative Content Agency (located in Jung-gu, Seoul), capturing the attention and popularity of attendees at the event.

Mayor Cho said, “Thanks to the interest and support of the citizens, Hamo won the grand prize and three categories at the Our Neighborhood Character Awards,” and added, “It is meaningful that the prize money received by Hamo, who is passionately supported and loved by children and adolescents, can be used for scholarship support projects for elementary, middle, high school, and university students.”

Hamo has played a significant role as a tourism ambassador by participating in various large and small events such as the 2022 Korean Culture Festival and the Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival, promoting Jinju and the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival in October.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.