A department store drew a white puppy. Seven years later its goods are up 73 percent and it throws first pitches

What it is

흰디 is a white puppy drawn by Hyundai Department Store in 2019 as its own character, the way Japanese railways and prefectures have theirs. For years it lived on the gift-shop shelves and the online mall.

In 2026 it went out. The company reported on 3 November that Heendy goods sales from January to October were 73 percent higher than the same months last year, and that the character’s Instagram account passed a hundred thousand followers in October, a third more than a year earlier.

Why it took off

Collaboration did it. In September the store signed with Daejeon’s tourism body and released sixteen items pairing Heendy with 꿈돌이, the city’s mascot from the 1993 Expo; the main ones sold out and the sale was extended from 31 October to 29 November. In April the dog had a themed space at the Goyang flower fair and threw a first pitch at a baseball game.

The company says the next step is collaborations with lifestyle brands popular with Gen Z and foreign visitors, and goods beyond stationery into clothes and accessories. Which is to say the character has stopped being an advertisement and started being a product.

HEENDY BEGINS, the character’s short film THE HYUNDAI 현대백화점. Plays on YouTube.

How to do it

The goods are sold at 더현대 수비니어, the souvenir shop inside The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, and at the Daejeon Kkumdori house for the collaboration pieces. Prices start at keyring level.

If you collect, buy the collaboration items first; they are the ones that run out. The store’s own account posts restocks.

Where, if you want it

The Hyundai Seoul, Yeouido station, lines 5 and 9. The building is worth the trip on its own for the indoor garden on the fifth floor.