Boseong-gun, "BS Samchongsa is the Best Character for Local Specialties"

There is a place where public officials took the initiative to help local farmers struggling due to COVID-19, causing an unexpected success. That place is Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do. Last year, with various festivals and events canceled, farmers faced a crisis in securing sales channels. In response, public officials brainstormed and created the special product characters called the BS Samchongsa. The BS Samchongsa were born with a budget of 3 million won, embodying the region’s first geographically indicated agricultural product, Boseong Green Tea, the first geographically indicated seafood product, Beolgyo Cockle, and the nation’s top producer of Boseong Kiwi. They began activities mainly online, fitting the untact era.

Looking for a way to promote the characters nationwide without special advertising expenses, they participated in the ‘Our Neighborhood Character’ contest and defied everyone’s expectations by overcoming competition from metropolitan local governments, receiving 110,000 votes and winning the grand prize.

When the BS Samchongsa made their debut on Boseong-gun’s official YouTube channel and started promoting special products, sales at the local specialty online shopping mall ‘Boseong Mall’ jumped by more than 60 million won compared to the previous month. They also played a key role in boosting sales at the nation’s first-ever ontact ‘Boseong World Tea Expo,’ running throughout the event venue including home shopping channels. Thanks to their background of being created for coexistence with farmers, the BS Samchongsa built an image as a kind-hearted character and have greatly contributed to enhancing the brand value of Boseong-gun’s agricultural and specialty products as national characters. Reported by Park Cheon-seok, Honam Reporting Headquarters kyy5325@