"Kicking Out the Award-Winning Duck for the Turtle's Return?... Gimhae Mascot Takes Center Stage in Election"

Democratic Party: "Bringing Haedong the Turtle Back to the Citizens"


Hong Taeyong: "Maintaining Ttodeogi's Youthful and Friendly Image"

The fate of the official character representing Gimhae City in South Gyeongsang Province is expected to change depending on the results of the upcoming June 3 local elections. This comes as the Gimhae mayoral candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea has pledged to bring back "Haedong," the city’s former mascot, as part of their campaign promises.

On May 16, Yonhap News, citing local political circles, reported that Democratic Party candidates for Gimhae mayor, metropolitan council, and municipal council recently held a press conference in which they presented the "Revival of Gimhae, the Royal Capital of Gaya" as their core vision. They announced plans to restore Gimhae's historical significance and identity by reinstating "Haedong," the former official character, in place of the current mascot "Todeoki."

Jung Youngdoo, the Gimhae mayoral candidate, visited the Gimhae City Election Commission on May 14, the first day of candidate registration, to complete his registration and then held a press conference at Gimhae City Hall with other Democratic Party candidates for city and provincial councils. They stated, "We will return Haedong, a character inspired by the turtle from the Gaya founding myth, to the citizens." They clarified, "We are not abolishing Todeoki. Instead, we will utilize it as a secondary character to pursue a branding strategy that spans across generations."

Haedong (left) and Todeoki. Photo by Yonhap News

Haedong is a character inspired by the turtle, a symbol from the Gaya founding myth. It embodies the meanings of "child of the maritime kingdom of Gaya" and "child of Gimhae." Haedong first appeared in 1995, after Gimhae City and Gimhae County were merged, and became the official mascot in 2003.

The current mascot, Todeoki, was introduced in 2023 during the tenure of Mayor Hong Taeyong of the People Power Party. The character was inspired by a duck-shaped pottery from the Gaya period, and its name combines the Chinese character for soil ("To") and the English word "Duck." With its cute image and the launch of KakaoTalk emoticons, Todeoki has gained popularity especially among the younger generation, and last year, it won the grand prize at the "Korea Local Government and Public Character Festival."

Some have pointed out that changing Gimhae's symbolic character from a turtle to a duck has weakened the region's historical and symbolic identity.

Hong, the current mayor and candidate for re-election, has stated that if re-elected, he intends to retain Todeoki as the official mascot. He emphasized, "Haedong has not been completely phased out and is still being used in some places," and added, "We will continue to highlight Todeoki’s youthful and friendly image."

This election is witnessing not only a debate over the city’s mascot but also a dispute over the official slogan. The Democratic Party has stressed that, instead of the current administration's "Gimhaeppy," they will reinstate the previous slogan, "Gimhae, the Royal Capital of Gaya."

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