Hong Gil-dong Enters Web3: A Meme Coin Rooted in Korean Literary Heritage
Seoul, Korea, July 8th, 2025, Chainwire
The Original Decentralist Returns – Joseon Dynasty’s Legendary Outlaw Is Back.
A new blockchain project fuses Korea’s most iconic literary classic, Hong Gil-dong Jeon, with meme coin culture. The result is $HGD, the first traditional K-meme coin built on an original piece of Korean intellectual property.
A Meme Made Real: Traditional IP Meets Blockchain
At the heart of the $HGD project lies a bold premise: Hong Gil-dong, the legendary folk hero who seized wealth from corrupt officials, once hid a secret stash of 1,000 trillion yeopjeon (ancient coins)—which now resurfaces on-chain.
This is more than satire or parody; it’s an experimental homage to decentralization, recast through Korea’s historical narrative.
Traditional IP + Blockchain = Meme as Money Itself
While maintaining the humorous and ironic tone expected of meme coins, $HGD deliberately strips away any functions beyond being a currency. In doing so, it embraces the core spirit of meme culture—and even of Bitcoin itself. In doing so, it reflects a pure memetic philosophy—one closely aligned with the origins of Bitcoin itself.
“A coin that does nothing but function as money—that’s the true essence of a meme.” Said Charles, COO of $HGD. “With this ethos, $HGD aims to position itself as “The Bitcoin of the East.”
NFT Class System: From Commoner to Secret Royal Inspector
Based on the amount of $HGD held, users are assigned NFT-based social ranks: Commoner, Guard, Master, or Secret Royal Inspector (Amhaeng-eosa).
This hierarchy is directly inspired by the original novel’s narrative and serves not only as a collectible status but as a functional community role within the future $HGD ecosystem.
Webtoons, Games, and Sports: The Cultural Expansion of K-Memes
$HGD is not just launching a coin—it’s building a narrative-driven multimedia universe around it:
Webtoon: Digital Inspector Hong Gil-dong
Serialized on X (formerly Twitter), the story follows Hong as he returns from the Joseon era to dismantle corruption in the digital age.
Game: CBDC Escape – Hong Gil-dong
A chase-style action game where players escape a dystopian city ruled by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
These projects are designed to expand the ecosystem’s values culturally, and will likely incorporate NFT rewards and a community-based staking system in the future.
K-Memes: A Movement Begins
Until now, Korea’s meme coin scene has been largely shaped by foreign icons like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. The team behind $HGD sees this as a problem, stating, “It’s time we create memes with Korean stories and Korean spirit.”
Hong Gil-dong is not merely a familiar character; he is the symbolic embodiment of decentralization in premodern Korea—a figure who took power from the corrupt and returned it to the people.
The Sovereignty of Money Belongs to the People
More than a cryptocurrency, $HGD is a digital echo of folk currency, delivering its message through memes.
Whether it will truly become the “Bitcoin of the East” remains to be seen—but one thing is certain: the journey has only just begun.
About Hong Gil-dong Jeon ($HGD)
Hong Gil-dong Jeon ($HGD) is a traditional K-meme coin that reimagines Korea’s legendary outlaw as a symbol of decentralization. Built on the belief that “the sovereignty of money belongs to the people,” $HGD embraces pure memetic value—aiming to become the Bitcoin of the East through narrative, culture, and folk power.