Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Everland to showcase flower festival featuring Sanrio characters
A poster for Everland's tulip festival featuring Sanrio characters / Courtesy of Samsung C&T
By Lee Hae-rin
Everland will showcase a special collaboration with Japanese entertainment company Sanrio for this year’s spring flower festival, the amusement park's operator said, Wednesday.
Dubbed “Fairy Town and Sanrio Characters,” the festival will kick off on March 22 at the country’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, featuring Sanrio's characters including Hello Kitty, Cinnamonroll, My Melody and Kuomi. They will be found at Everland's Four Season Garden, which spans around 10,000 square meters.
The amusement park will also present character-themed attractions, merchandise collections and food and beverages.
This will be Sanrio’s first time collaborating on a large-scale outdoor event in Korea, the company noted.
The pastel-toned animal characters from Japan have seen their popularity growing in Korea amid a diplomatic thaw between the two countries.
According to a report released last November by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) on character trends in 2023, Sanrio ranked in the top five favorite characters in several age groups, including children, teenagers, people in their 20s and middle-aged people.
The amusement park will continue to make more collaborations to create “unique content” every season using its Four Season Garden as a main platform, the park operator Samsung C&T said in a press release.
Everland has been promoting its own intellectual properties, including the giant panda Bao Family and red panda character Lessey & Friends.