National Museum of Korea's gift shop posts record $29.9 mil. in sales amid K-culture boom

The National Museum of Korea's official merchandise brand MU:DS has surpassed 40 billion won ($29.9 million) in annual sales for the first time, driven by surging global interest in Korean traditional culture, officials said Tuesday. The National Museum Foundation of Korea said provisional data showed that cumulative sales of MU:DS products exceeded 40 billion won this month, breaking the previous record just two months after crossing the 30 billion-won mark in October. It marks the highest sales figure since the foundation was established in 2004. Launched as a line of goods inspired by national museum artifacts, MU:DS combines the words "museum" and "goods" in its name. Its hit products include jewelry modeled after Silla-era gold crowns, lamps shaped like the Seokguram Grotto, and a miniature of the Pensive Bodhisattva, which is famous among BTS fans for being owned by member RM. Sales jumped sharply in mid-2025, fueled by the global wave of Korean culture. Monthly revenues, which had averaged around 2 billion won in the second quarter, more than doubled to about 4.95 billion won inWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times