Haseulla was an autonomous state within the Goguryeo federation, covering what is now the Gangneung, Pyeongchang and Yangyang area. It rivaled Siljik — the state encompassing present-day Donghae, Samcheok, Taebaek, Uljin and Yeongdeok — which frequently faced incursions from the Saro state around Gyeongju, and the two clashed fiercely during Goguryeo's southward expansion.
The Okgye and Mangsang areas were the main battlegrounds between Haseulla and Siljik. The mountain pass of Samunjae, south of Okgye, was originally named for its meaning of "gate of death," though the character for "door" used today carries a different connotation.
Among the Goguryeo federation states, Haseulla served as a key southern stronghold as Goguryeo consolidated its dominance over the Three Han confederacies, and had long been known as a beautiful and livable region.
Shortly after Siljik fell to Silla in the early sixth century, Goguryeo became preoccupied with its rivalry against the Tang dynasty along the Liao River and in the Shanxi region, leaving it unable to attend to the central Korean Peninsula. Haseulla was subsequently absorbed into the expanding Silla kingdom.
The memory of Haseulla has now been reborn as Haseullang, the flagship character for Gangneung's cultural tourism.
Gangneung city said Friday that Haseullang, its new digital tourism character, was developed through a collaboration among the city government, the Gangneung Tourism Development Corporation and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS). Videos featuring the character — including stories about Haseullang's origins, its friends and the city of Gangneung — are being released through the Visit Gangneung platform and EBS channels.
Haseullang is a cat with a charming backstory: it fell so deeply in love with Gangneung that it decided to become a local. The character depicts a cat that, while traveling through the city, became captivated by its appeal and chose to settle there — now roaming every corner dressed in a tiger costume and serving as a guide to Gangneung's attractions for tourists.
The name Haseullang combines "Haseul," drawn from Gangneung's ancient place name Haseulla, with "rang," meaning tiger. The name carries both the city's historical identity and its tiger symbolism, while also evoking the hanja character for "young hero" or "youth" — giving the character the image of a spirited young hero who embodies the vitality of Gangneung.
The character's development began with a public opinion survey, followed by consultation with an advisory committee of experts and a review by Gangneung's Public Design Promotion Committee, before Haseullang was selected as the final design.
Companion characters to join Haseullang in exploring the city were chosen through an AI-powered contest, allowing citizens and creators to collaborate in building new tourism content for Gangneung.
Gangneung city plans to deploy Haseullang across a wide range of platforms and settings — tourist sites, festivals, social media, tourism products and promotional videos. The city also intends to work with EBS to produce broadcasts, performances, branded content and television advertisements as part of a full-scale tourism promotion and marketing push.
Bae Gwang-sik, head of the city's tourism policy division, said Haseullang was "a new digital tourism asset for Gangneung, born from the interest and participation of its citizens." He added that the city would make active use of the character "so that Haseullang can grow into a leading tourism mascot that roams every corner of Gangneung and shares the city's appeal with visitors from home and abroad."
abc@heraldcorp.com
