Have you had a hug from Hechi 해치, Seoul’s tourism mascot who can be seen all over the city (and even on buses)?
Hechi and the ‘Soul Friends’ are cute characters that appear at all of the big events like Seoul Outdoor Library plus also have more permanent statues across the city.
Hechi has been the mascot of Seoul since 2008 but last year in 2024, a totally new pink look and feel was unveiled.
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Such is the popularity of Hechi, you can now even buy 해치 Hechi merchandise in several Seoul Tourism gift shops and Toys R Us.
Based on a local city legend and recently rebranded (the character used to be yellow and didn’t speak) we’ve bumped into Hechi at a few Seoul events and love spotting his ‘Soul Friends’ out and about.
From Hechi merchandise to where to spot the pink mascot in Seoul, here is our ultimate guide to Hechi 해치 in Seoul.
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Who is Hechi 해치?
Famous in Seoul (online and in person), Hechi is a bright pink cute character based on Haechi, a legendary Seoul ‘animal’ and Korean folklore tale that dates back over 600 years.
The new Hechi is an interpretation of this and latest version was launched in April 2024 (you should have seen the first birthday celebrations in 2025 – wow!)
Hechi is known to bring dreams to life and gives lots of hugs – so chances are if you get to meet Hechi in real life (well, some dressed up in a furry pink suit), you will get a hug.
This is exactly what happened to Caroline when we met Hechi at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Dongdaemun.
Hechi has a bell around their neck plus a tail – the pink and green hues are complimentary colors and mirrors ‘dancheong’ (단청), the kind of decorative colors you see on hanbok clothing and temple / hanbok rooves.
For now, it looks like Seoul Tourism is riding the Korean Wave (‘Hallyu’) and investing heavily in Hechi – perhaps he is a global tourism mascot in the making? Watch out Kakao Friends and Line Friends…
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Soul Friends
Hechi has several equally colourful companions who often appear alongside at various events and lots of statues (all are available to collect as blind boxes and merchandise too).
Red Bird – Cynical JOO: the deity of fire, water and summer – it hates injustice.
Blue Dragon – Puppyish YOUNG: the deity of trees, spring and east; it thinks it is a puppy.
White Tiger – Vigorous HOU: the deity of Autumn, steel and west – loves taekwondo.
Green Tortoise – Enigmatic MOO: the deity of Winter, water and north – it represents Seoul’s cool and trendy vibe.
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Where can you meet Hechi in Seoul?
The great thing is you can see Hechi and friends in Seoul at any time of year – there is a mixture of permanent photo spots and big and bright models to pose with, plus Hechi appears in person at big tourism events .
Here is all the Seoul Haechi 해치 photos spots we’ve seen around the city which are there all the time:
Dongdaemun Design Plaza
As well as a Hechi gift shop (more on this in the merchandise section), the DDP is home to a several permanent Hechi statues you can pose with plus occasionally, a huge 30 foot fluffy Hechi statue which you can pose with.
We were lucky enough to see the BIG Hechi fluffy Hechi model at DDP when we last visited but it then moved a few days later to the Flower Show.
There is also an 8ft furry Hechi you can pose with all year round in the DDP Design Store.
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Cheonggyecheon Stream
On the same square / plaza as the famous seashell sculpture (Cheonggye Plaza 청계광장), there is a Hechi and Soul Friends statue you can pose with, with the stream in the background.
During Seoul Outdoor Library at Cheonggyecheon in the summer months, Hechi makes additional appearances at the library.
Seoul City Plaza and City Hall
This is the main outdoor events space in Seoul and where the annual Seoul Christmas ice-skating rink pops up.
There is a small permanent Hechi photo spot outside the main entrance to Seoul City Hall plus Hechi pops up during the Seoul Outdoor Library months.
When we last visited in May 2025, there was even a huge Hechi inflatable on the roof looking out across Seoul.
Seoul City Hall has various Hechi displays inside (plus a limited stock of Hechi merchandise on the upper cafe floor).
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Other temporary locations
As mentioned, Hechi and friends usually appear at big city events and we’ve seen temporary Hechi installations and live appearances at various places like:
- The Car-Free Jamsugyo Bridge Festival (Banpo Hangang Park – where the rainbow fountains are)
- DDP flea markets
- The Seoul International Garden Show (서울국제정원박람회) at Boramae Park
There has even been Seoul drone shows over the River Han which featured Hechi 해치 in drone form – how cool!?
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Hechi Buses in Seoul
Yes, there are bright pink buses driving around Seoul featuring Haechi’s face on the front and Hechi’s tail on the back.
SOME (but not all) of these Hechi buses are themed inside too. We were lucky enough to ride one to Myeongdong bus station from Namsan Seoul Tower after completing the Namsan Trail up to the top of the park.
Talk about riding in style – the whole bus was covered in cute cartoon characters (Soul Friends) plus Hechi’s furry face beam from every surface including the bus ceiling!
There is also the themed Hangang Hechi Car which operates in Nanji Hangang Park from April to November – see photos here >
Hechi merchandise and gift shops
We’ve been asked a couple of times about Hechi merchandise in our South Korea Travel Tips and Planning Facebook group and there are several Hechi gift shops, operated by Seoul Tourism Organization.
The Hechi merchandise displays and shops can be found at:
DDP Design Store
This has the biggest collection of Hechi merchandise in Seoul, everything from blind boxes to neck pillows and even a Hechi plush.
This is also the only store where you can get Hechi embroidery patches (Korean wapenpaechi’ 와펜패치). Pick your items / characters and staff will iron them onto a keyring or other product.
The DDP Design store has a big furry Hechi model inside to pose with plus a really great range of unique gifts. It is one of the best gift shops in Seoul in our opinion.
Seoul Tourism Plaza
Located next to Cheonggyecheon Stream 청계천 and near to the cool HiKr Ground, Seoul Tourism Plaza has a gift shop featuring Hechi items plus a huge Hechi sphere which shows cute animations. There is a Seoul Medical Tourism center here too.
Seoul City Hall
There is a small display of Hechi gifts on the upper floor of Seoul City Hall next to the cafe upstairs. Visitors are allowed to go into Seoul City Hall and this is the closest location to Myeongdong to get merchandise.
Toys R Us
Finally, a few Toys R Us stores in Seoul have Hechi merchandise displays including the Seoul station and Jamsil branches.
HBAF stores
This popular snack chain store in Myeongdong has a Seoul Tourism x Hechi collaboration where you can purchase Hechi branded chicken flavoured almonds. You can’t buy the plushies here though, only the almonds!
Hechi Merchandise
We’ve spotted everything from neck pillows to onesies – however, we wanted something quite small and sadly, all of the small size Hechi plushes had sold out when we visited in May 2025.
This was annoying as we went to EVERY SINGLE Hechi gift-shop in Seoul looking for one (Seoul Tourism Organization – if you are reading this, we really want one)!
So as well as postcards and a cute tin, we also bought a Hechi furry fridge magnet.
But best of all are the Hechi and Soul Friends blind boxes. Obviously we wanted Hechi the most and we worked out he looked the heaviest of all the figures – so by lifting up all the boxes, we figured out which one to buy.
If you love Hechi too, share your encounters, merchandise and photos in our South Korea Travel Tips and Planning Facebook group >
And finally after a busy day in Seoul just remember – “don’t worry, be Hechi!”
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