| Description |
The Siberian Tiger, a long popular animal in Korean folklore and culture, made for the perfect mascot of the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. The mascot, named Hodori, sporting the Olympic rings as a medal around his neck and a Korean hat called a Sangmo. The end of the Sangmo, called the Piji, is a paper streamer that moves during traditional Korean folk performance. Hodori is kicking a soccer ball in this shield shaped pin.
The collecting and sharing of Olympic Pins have been a staple of the modern games since their inception in 1896. The souvenirs are highly sought after by both athletes, who collect and trade inside the village, and spectators who buy pins from official and fan run stores. Sponsors of the games often mass produce pins for anyone to collect as memories of the games. Coca-Cola, for example, produced multiple full pin sets for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Some of the unofficial mascots were also creations of companies, such as the 1972 Sapporo games and their mascot, Takuchan, created by the Seiko watch company as a bear on skis wearing a wristwatch. Pins are a small part of the overall marketing for the modern games, which now encapsulates a large merchandising operation involving overseas mass production of Olympic memorabilia. |
| Bibliography |
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