나인미

나인미 (2019)

(The Nine Delicacies of Mokpo)

Collaborating with a friend/inventor, I had the opportunity to work on designing characters to represent the Nine Delicacies of Mokpo. They consist of nine kinds of fish: Korean octopus, devilfish, cutlassfish, rockfish, Chinese herring, croaker, butterfish and skate. The aim was to use their characteristics to create a friendly character that could later be used in different areas to advertise the city of Mokpo.

(2019 October)

Butterfish

The butterfish’s shape itself looked appealing, thus the fin was shaped into an angel’s wing to leave the simplicity of it.

Cutlassfish

Cutlassfish are slim and they look strong and sharp. The image of sword surged from it thus we shaped it to look like one.

Korean Octopus

The Korean octopus loved by people of all ages. Mokpo’s Korean octopus are famous for having really thin legs, and thus are called ‘three legged octopus.’ They live in mud (뻘), and 뻘뻘 (ppul ppul) is an onomatopoeia for sweating, and therefore he is portrayed as wiping off his sweat with an exfoliating towel, an iconic image of Korea.

Devilfish

Devilfish is usually remembered as a blob looking like creature which is unappealing. The aim was to make it cuter, and focus on its big mouth and make them into lips.

Crab

The crabs caught in the area are said to have a diamond shaped back. Because the name is ‘꽃게’ and ‘꽃’ means flower, the trumpet creeper was added to his mouth and if he carries it all around.

Croaker

Croaker is known to be the king of all fish for its big size and expensiveness. He wears an old king’s hat to show his power.

Rockfish

Rockfish gives a strong impression because of its ugliness and hardness. The image was used and translated into a fish who wants to look manly and strong.

Chinese Herring

Chinese Herrings are famous for being small yet delicious. There’s a saying that goes “썩어도 준치,” which literally translates to ‘even if it is rotten, I choose Chinese herring.’ They have big eyes, and made them look like glasses, a studious, nerdy fish

Skate

Skate has really adorable face looking like features at the lower side, so it was used as it is. Skate’s are famous for being a great partner with the Korean rice wine and so was given the bowl which is usually used when drinking them.