Yongin Mayor's Idea Doubles Attendance at Citizens' Festival

The City’s First Character Festival Featuring “Joayang” Achieves Success
29 Characters from 18 Organizations Participate... Pop-up Store Also a Hit

The mayor's idea has drawn attention for doubling the number of participants at a local festival in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

According to Yongin City on September 30, approximately 45,000 visitors attended the "2025 Korea Joayang Festival" held at Yongin Mir Stadium over two days, September 27 and 28, to commemorate Yongin Citizens' Day. The city explained that this figure is about twice as many as last year's event.

At the 'Korea Joayang Festival' held at Yongin Mir Stadium, various characters including Yongin City's official mascot 'Joayang' are parading with citizens. Provided by Yongin City

On the first day of the festival, September 27, around 35,000 citizens visited the venue, and despite heavy rain in the morning of the second day, September 28, about 10,000 people attended.

It is said that the increase in participants this year was due to the ideas of Lee Sangil, mayor of Yongin City. By utilizing the city's official character "Joayang," the festival was organized as a character festival that brought together characters from various institutions. Accordingly, the festival name, which was "Yongin Citizen Festa" last year, was changed this year to "Korea Joayang Festival."

The event featured 29 characters from 18 organizations, including "Joayang" as well as characters from sister cities, universities, institutions, and companies, making it especially popular among families with children. The characters roamed the venue, taking photos and creating joyful memories with children. A character parade, prepared by citizens themselves and featuring a variety of characters, also received an enthusiastic response.

This is about twice the number of participants compared to last year's Citizens' Day festival, which was held at the same location over two days. Officials analyzed that this year, thanks to Mayor Lee Sangil's idea, the festival programs became more diverse by hosting the nation's first character festival featuring Yongin's popular character "Joayang" along with sister city, university, company, and institution characters. As a result, citizens showed greater interest and enthusiasm, leading to higher attendance.

The "Joayang in Store" pop-up shop, which sold various merchandise such as dolls based on the Joayang character, was also very popular. The Yongin Regional Self-Sufficiency Center, which had initially expected about 3 million won in merchandise sales, recorded sales exceeding 14 million won.

One citizen who visited with family said, "My children kept asking me to buy Joayang merchandise, so we waited in line to get it," adding, "It was a special festival that created memories not only for children but also for adults."

Lee Sangil, mayor of Yongin City, is announcing the city's new integrated urban brand at the "Korea Joayang Festival." Provided by Yongin City

In addition to the character festival, the city explained that fan signing events with sports stars such as Woo Sanghyeok, Lee Donggook, and Park Seri, one-point soccer lessons, the Joayang original musical, and performances by famous singers like Kim Kyungho, Son Seungyeon, and K.Will also contributed to attracting visitors.

Furthermore, the success of the event was attributed to the integrated hosting of other festivals, including the Yongin Youth Festival, Yongin Food Festival, Yongin Cyber Science Festival, and Yongin Food Industry Expo, in conjunction with the main event.

Meanwhile, this year's festival was attended not only by domestic sister cities such as Hampyeong County and Gwangyang City in Jeonnam Province; Ulleung County, Andong City, and Pohang City in Gyeongbuk Province; Goesan County and Danyang County in Chungbuk Province; Jeju City in Jeju Province; and Sacheon City in Gyeongnam Province, but also by representatives from six overseas cities, including Fullerton City, Fairfax County, and Williamson County in the United States; Kayseri in T?rkiye; the Embassy of Italy; and Kumamoto City in Japan.

A city official stated, "The fact that not only domestic but also overseas sister cities visited the festival in large numbers indicates growing interest in Yongin City, which is emerging as a global semiconductor hub."

Mayor Lee said, "The participation of many citizens as well as various cities from Korea and abroad in this year's festival to commemorate Citizens' Day signifies the growth of our city brand. I would like to express my respect and gratitude for the passion and active participation of our citizens."