"Escaped Wolf" Neukgu Returns with Victories... Daejeon Smitten with Neukgu

The daily life of Neukgu, the wolf that escaped from Daejeon O-World and was captured after ten days, continues to be a trending topic.

AI-generated image designed to appear as if featured on the popular variety show 'You Quiz on the Block.' Screenshot from an online community.

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According to Daejeon City and several online communities on April 19, every stage of Neukgu’s escape and capture has become a hot topic, with memes related to Neukgu spreading across the internet. Previously, a joke went viral: "Now that Neukgu is back, all that's left is for Hanwha Eagles' bullpen control to return," and this joke became reality when the Hanwha Eagles defeated the Lotte Giants in an away game in Busan the previous day.

During Neukgu’s period of escape, Daejeon-based professional sports teams coincidentally fell into a losing streak. The Hanwha Eagles lost six consecutive home games, from the match against KIA on the 10th to the game against Samsung on the 16th. The Daejeon Hana Citizen professional soccer team also lost three straight games, including a home match against Gangwon FC on the 12th. However, after Neukgu’s return, both the Hanwha Eagles and Daejeon Hana Citizen secured victories in their respective games on the 12th, leading to Neukgu being dubbed Daejeon’s "victory fairy."

Lee Jang-woo, Mayor of Daejeon, who has shared updates on Neukgu’s condition via social media since the wolf’s capture, joined in on the "victory fairy" Neukgu meme by posting, "Now that Neukgu is back, both the soccer and baseball teams have won!" Citizens also enthusiastically responded with comments such as, "We should change the name to Hanwha Wolves," "Neukgu is Daejeon's victory fairy," and "After Kkumdori, make Neukgu the next mascot."

It has been reported that Daejeon Tourism Organization has received a flood of suggestions to create Neukgu merchandise, a Neukgu character, a children's book titled "Neukgu’s Adventure," Neukgu paw-shaped bread, and a limited-edition return commemorative T-shirt.

On Daejeon area online communities, photoshopped images of Neukgu inserted into famous entertainment programs are spreading. There is also growing interest in the fact that his name comes from being the ninth sibling (with "gu" representing the number nine), as well as in the operation of O-World’s radial safari, which is the largest in Korea.

On the 18th, a building's electronic billboard in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon displayed the message "Neukgu, thank you for coming back." Photo by Yonhap News

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Meanwhile, the LG Electronics Best Shop Daejeon Main Branch changed the message on its large electronic billboard from "Neukgu, come back" to "Neukgu, thank you for coming back" and has been displaying this new message daily since Neukgu was captured on the 17th.

Previously, Neukgu escaped by digging under the safari fence at Daejeon O-World at around 9:18 a.m. on the 8th, and was captured ten days later at 12:44 a.m. on the 17th near the Anyoung Interchange (IC) on the Daejeon Southern Ring Expressway in Jung-gu, Daejeon. Neukgu lost 3 kilograms but reportedly ate 650 grams of minced beef and raw chicken without any issues the previous day. Once Neukgu regains strength and stability, he is expected to rejoin his parents and siblings in their pack.

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