Hanami and Bangwuli Merchandise Now Available at Subway Stations... Vending Machines Launched at Misa and Hanam City Hall Stations

Hanam City Enhances Accessibility for Residents

Hanami and Bangwuli are becoming even closer to local residents. With the introduction of vending machines selling Hanam City's official character merchandise at Misa Station and Hanam City Hall Station, citizens can now encounter Hanami and Bangwuli goods naturally in their daily commuting spaces.

Hanam City operates vending machines at Misa Station and Hanam City Hall Station where residents can easily purchase official city character merchandise. Photo by Hanam City

On December 5, Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province announced that it had installed and begun operating vending machines for official city character merchandise at the two Line 5 subway stations within its jurisdiction. The introduction of these vending machines was based on the "Agreement to Promote Self-Sufficiency Projects Using Hanam City Characters" signed with the Hanam Regional Self-Sufficiency Center in July.

Under the agreement, Hanam City is responsible for overall administrative cooperation, including character usage approval, design support, and promotion, while the Self-Sufficiency Center handles practical tasks such as product planning, production, distribution, and accounting, thereby operating the merchandise business. Through this structure, the city provides residents with friendly character merchandise and creates job opportunities to support the self-reliance of vulnerable groups in the local community, establishing a mutually beneficial framework.

Since October 17, the Hanam Regional Self-Sufficiency Center has conducted a pilot sale at two branches of the "Ilmaren" cafe in Sinjang-dong, offering goods such as pens, keyrings, and grip-toks. With steady interest from citizens during the pilot operation, the city installed vending machines at subway stations that citizens pass through daily, in line with the plans discussed since the July agreement, to further improve accessibility.

The vending machines sell a total of five types of merchandise, including smart-toks, pens, and keyrings, all featuring the cute round-cheeked faces of Hanami and Bangwuli. The exterior of the vending machines also incorporates Hanami and Bangwuli elements, allowing citizens to feel the characters' friendliness even while choosing their merchandise.

A city official stated, "As merchandise sales expand in a citizen-friendly manner, it is also helping to strengthen the self-sufficiency foundation of the regional self-sufficiency center," adding, "We will continue to actively reflect citizens' wishes by expanding the range of merchandise and installation locations, and further strengthen our cooperation with the Hanam Regional Self-Sufficiency Center so that a greater variety of goods are easily accessible to residents."

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