Art content solutions company Arttoken is partnering with Jikjisa — the head temple of the eighth district of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism — to participate in the 2026 Gimcheon Kimbap Festival, running Friday through Sunday in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. Jikjisa will operate an official booth at the event, with Arttoken handling all aspects of booth planning and management, including character development, merchandise production, brand collaboration and on-site operations.
The Gimcheon Kimbap Festival has grown into one of the city's signature events since its inaugural edition in 2024, drawing 170,000 visitors over two days last year. This year the festival expands to three days and will be held across Jikji Culture Park and Samyeongdaesa Park. The Jikjisa booth will be set up in the front courtyard at the temple's main gate.
Jikjisa character 'Hwangaki' makes public debut
The centerpiece of the booth is Hwangaki, a character Jikjisa is unveiling for the first time. The name comes from Hwangaksan, the mountain on which the temple stands, and refers to a blue haetae statue long kept on the base of the temple's dharma drum platform. The date of the statue's creation has not been confirmed, though Jikjisa believes it was made several hundred years ago. The temple developed a character intellectual property based on the haetae statue, while Arttoken designed the character to reflect the statue's sculptural features and produced merchandise including T-shirts and keyrings.
The Hwangaki statue, normally kept from public view, will be moved to the second floor of Jikjisa's Manseru pavilion for the duration of the festival and put on special display all three days. Admission is free with no time restrictions.
Hwangaki reads your fortune: saju app 'Myoyong' bows at festival
Arttoken will also use the festival to introduce Myoyong, a saju-based fortune app it developed to make traditional East Asian astrology and the four pillars of destiny accessible in a digital format. Users enter their date and time of birth to receive daily, overall and detailed fortune readings. At the Jikjisa booth, the app will run on four kiosks, with Hwangaki serving as the character who delivers each visitor's fortune. Myoyong is planned for expansion as a web app.
Traditional liquor, illustration and fragrance under one roof
Beyond merchandise and fortune readings, the Jikjisa booth will be set up as a multi-cultural experience space bringing together traditional liquor, illustration, fragrance and beverages. Seonsan Brewing, a traditional liquor brand from Gumi; Waengeugigeug (Giraffe Drawn with the Left Hand), an illustration brand; Chorokdo, a fragrance workshop based in Daegu; and Maeil Dairies are all joining the booth in support of Jikjisa's vision. Daewoong Pharma will sponsor health supplement products.
Seonsan Brewing is a youth-run brewery whose makgeolli, rooted in a 500-year-old home-brewing tradition of the Seonsan Kim clan, won the grand prize in the fresh makgeolli category at the 2024 Korea Liquor Awards. Waengeugigeug is a project in which the artist has drawn a giraffe with the left hand every day since 2021, bringing free-spirited hand-drawn illustrations to add visual charm to the booth. Chorokdo will run a hands-on program where visitors can make their own incense and sachets. Maeil Dairies will open a beverage counter inside the booth, and Daewoong Pharma will provide health supplement products to visitors as a sponsor.
Arttoken designed the space so that each brand's individual character shines while the entire Jikjisa booth flows together as a single cultural destination. Visitors can browse Hwangaki merchandise, receive a fortune reading from Hwangaki through Myoyong, and enjoy makgeolli, illustrations, fragrance-making and beverages all in one place.
A portion of the booth's operating proceeds will be donated to Jikjisa by Arttoken and all participating brands, and the temple will use the funds to support those in need.
"Expanding traditional cultural assets into character IP and digital content is exactly what Arttoken does best," said Hong Ji-suk, chief executive of Arttoken. "Starting with this collaboration with Jikjisa, we will continue connecting cultural heritage with technology." Seonghyo, Jikjisa's director of financial affairs, said the temple wanted to create an opportunity for visitors to approach the temple with ease rather than finding it intimidating. "We hope that during the festival, more people will form a connection with Jikjisa in the courtyard at the main gate and enjoy traditional culture in a joyful way," he said.
tiger@heraldcorp.com
