"'I Buy as Many as I Can, First Thing After Arriving in Korea'... The Souvenir Foreign Visitors Pack Their Suitcases With [K-Holic]"

MU:DS Gains Popularity with Contemporary Design and Practicality
From Compact Mirrors and Umbrellas to Pouches... A Diverse Product Range

Editor's NoteInterest in Korean culture is growing rapidly around the world. Korean products and content, including K-food and K-beauty, are moving beyond niche fan communities and becoming part of consumers' everyday lives overseas. [K-Holic] highlights the Korean wave taking hold around the world and examines why consumers overseas are taking an interest in Korea.

Merchandise sold at the National Museum of Korea, known as MU:DS (museum + goods), is proving hugely popular. Products that reinterpret Korea's cultural heritage for modern audiences are attracting interest from visitors at home and abroad, and that interest is translating into purchases. Some items have even sold out, while MU:DS sales have been climbing rapidly.

Foreign Visitors Are Opening Their Wallets Too... MU:DS Sales Hit 21.8 Billion Won in the First Half of This Year

Smile of Silla Pouch. National Museum Foundation of Korea.

According to the National Museum Foundation of Korea, MU:DS sales reached 21.8 billion won in the first half of 2026, up about 90% from the same period last year. The increase is seen as a result of visitors' interest in experiencing cultural heritage more closely translating into purchases. Purchases by international visitors also rose significantly. Sales to international customers totaled about 1 billion won in the first half of this year, nearly double the figure for the same period last year.

International visitors have shown strong interest in commemorative items that preserve memories of their visits, such as art prints featuring paintings and magnets. Several products popular with domestic customers also ranked among the top sellers, including miniature Pensive Bodhisattva figures, Yi Sun-sin's military hat wine stoppers, and a color-changing glass set featuring the Three Tipsy Scholars.

Why Are International Visitors Taken with MU:DS? Traditional Designs Meet Practicality

MU:DS's popularity is attributed to its reinterpretation of Korean cultural heritage as merchandise people want to own, rather than simply reproducing it as is, by adding contemporary design and practical features. Another strength is the way it brings traditional patterns and images of historical artifacts into everyday items, giving MU:DS products a distinctly Korean character.

The souvenir shop inside the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on the 18th of last month. Yonhap News Agency

The range of products is also diverse, including hand mirrors, automatic umbrellas, bookmarks, and pouches. With distinctive designs and practical features that international visitors can find only in Korea, the items are also attracting attention as travel souvenirs and gifts.

Interest in MU:DS among international travelers is evident online as well. In a post about travel in Korea on the U.S. online community Reddit, a visitor praised the gift shop at the National Museum of Korea as "one of the best gift shops in Korea." Other comments included, "There are lots of souvenirs with a history behind them, and they're good quality," and "I filled my suitcase with MU:DS products."

MU:DS' Magpie and Tiger Badge. National Museum Foundation of Korea

Major international media outlets have also featured MU:DS. In December 2025, the British newspaper The Guardian named MU:DS's "Magpie and Tiger Badge" one of 21 gifts loved around the world.

The Guardian reported that the global popularity of the Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters had fueled growing interest in Korean culture and drawn crowds to the National Museum of Korea. It described the badge as "inspired by traditional Korean folk paintings featuring a magpie and a mischievous white tiger, and said to ward off bad luck."

From a BTS Collaboration to Overseas Art Museums... MU:DS Goes Global

Miniature Pensive Bodhisattva (Mind Series). National Museum Foundation of Korea

K-pop's popularity has also helped raise MU:DS's profile around the world. Among the brand collaborations launched in the first half of 2026, the collection created with HYBE and Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) drew the most attention. It went on sale on March 20, 2026, amid strong interest from fans at home and abroad who had been waiting for BTS to reunite as a full group. In conjunction with the group's comeback concert in Gwanghwamun the following day, the collection generated about 43 million won in sales at the museum store in just two days.

A miniature Pensive Bodhisattva figure was also reported to be part of BTS leader RM's collection, making headlines after it temporarily sold out. A flagship MU:DS bestseller, the miniature Pensive Bodhisattva figure sold about 12,000 units in the first half of this year alone, bringing cumulative sales to more than 61,000.

Buoyed by this popularity, MU:DS is accelerating its international expansion. The National Museum Foundation of Korea exported about $110,000 worth of MU:DS products, equivalent to approximately 150 million won, in conjunction with the special exhibition "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," jointly organized by RM and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

MU:DS products are also available in the United Kingdom. Eighteen MU:DS items are being sold at the museum shop in conjunction with the special exhibition "Korea: 2000 Years of Creativity," running at the British Museum from October 1, 2026, through January 31, 2027.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.