SeoulTech’s official mascot “Tech-dragon”​



SeoulTech officially announced the new mascot, “Tech-dragon,” aimed at revitalizing the university’s visual identity. The awards ceremony for the “Symbol Animal (Black Dragon) Mascot Contest” was on October 16, 2025, at the Administration Building.

Background and Purpose of the Contest

The “Black Dragon” was originally designated as SeoulTech’s symbol animal in 2012, marking the transition to a general university system during the Year of the Black Dragon. The symbol was officially finalized in February 2014 by the “Symbol Establishment Committee,” which included faculty, alumni, and student representatives. However, internal feedback indicated that awareness of the Black Dragon symbol remained low among the SeoulTech community over the past decade.

In response to sustained student demand for a representative mascot, The mascot development project was included as a pledge for both the SeoulTech President and the 2025 Student Council.

Contest Process and Selection

The contest ran for 50 days from July 21 to September 9, 2025. It was open to students, faculty, alumni, and the general public. According to the Public Relations Office, a total of 320 entries were submitted, comprising 81 entries from the student division and 239 from the general division.



The evaluation process consisted of two stages. The first stage was an online screening by a panel of six internal and external judges, which selected 20 entries (13 general, 7 student). The second stage involved an offline review by four judges, who determined the final five winning works. The judging panel included professors from the Department of Visual Design, the Dean of Student Affairs, and representatives from external character development companies. The Student Council participated in all stages of the screening to ensure student opinions were reflected in the final decision.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Gayeong An from the general division. Her design was selected for its incorporation of the university’s visual identity into the character’s form. The finalized character features horns that emphasize the Korean consonants ‘ ㅅ ’ and ‘ㄱ ’, representing SeoulTech. The character has a blue horn (rationality) and a red horn (excitement), reflecting SeoulTech’s UI colors.



The name “Tech-dragon” (테크뇽) was chosen through a separate naming contest. The first round of the naming contest collected 135 suggestions via official social media channels. The top four names based on “likes” advanced to a second round of voting by students and faculty. “Tech-dragon,” a portmanteau of “SeoulTech” and “Yong” (dragon) pronounced with a cute suffix, received the most votes.

According to the character’s backstory, developed in collaboration with the Department of Creative Writing, “Tech-dragon” is a young dragon born from the wishes of students gathered at the Boongeobang Pond. The character is described as friendly and humorous but occasionally clumsy.

Future Utilization Plans

The Public Relations Office outlined plans to utilize the new mascot as a core promotional asset. Youngju Lee, Head of the PR Office, stated, “We plan to actively use the mascot in online content such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to improve university awareness, and we will provide guidelines to maintain a consistent image.”

Additionally, there are plans to establish an official merchandise shop in cooperation with the Student Affairs Office and the Student Council. The administration also announced that it would release copyright usage guidelines to allow students to freely create secondary content using the mascot.

Reporter

Jieun Park

pk325382@g.seoultech.ac.kr

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