The KBO X MU:DS National Baseball Team Collaboration Collection launched last year combines traditional culture with sports, shedding new light on the nation's cultural values.

By Margareth Theresia
Photos = National Museum Foundation of Korea

MU:DS, the official merchandise brand of the National Museum Foundation (NMF) of Korea featuring products themed on the country's traditional heritage, broke KRW 40 billion in sales last year, setting a milestone for museum merchandise.

The NMF achieved this result by raising domestic production through cooperation with small and medium enterprises and small business owners to form a virtuous economic cycle featuring traditional culture.

The foundation on April 9 held a news conference at National Museum of Korea in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District for foreign correspondents to explain its accomplishments.

MU:DS has achieved conspicuous growth over the last five years. NMF data released in January said sales surged from KRW 6.59 billion in 2021 to KRW 41.33 billion last year, almost double from KRW 21.28 billion in 2024.

The key to such commercial success is outstanding ideas secured through competitions. The Magpie Tiger Badge, the winner of a 2024 contest, saw annual sales of about 90,000 units worth KRW 1.3 billion thanks in part to the global popularity of the animated blockbuster "KPop Demon Hunters," whose traditional animal characters sparked high demand for merchandise in their likenesses.

The Changing Soju Glass Set (Tipsy Scholar Color), three mini-glasses with the image of a neo-Confucian scholar-official whose face turns red when a cold drink is poured into it, sold about 60,000 units worth KRW 1.5 billion.

Magpie Tiger badge (left) and Changing Soju Glass Set (Tipsy Scholar Color)

The global response to this merchandise has been positive. Since debuting at the Korea Pavilion of Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai in Japan in May last year, the items have been featured at K-Expos in Toronto, Madrid and Dubai as well as the Hallyu Expo in New York.

The brand's products sold during the overseas exhibition tour of art collected by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington sold out within a week.

The profile of cultural heritage is also expanding through cooperation with other business sectors. Starbucks has put out tumblers and mugs based on the concept of the Room of Quiet Contemplation, an exhibition space at the National Museum of Korea featuring two statues of the Buddhist Pensive Bodhisattva.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has uniforms, caps and T-shirts with the designs of a magpie and a Magpie Tiger badge. And confectionery maker Orion launched the snack pack Bichobi National Museum of Korea Edition, showing the designs of 20 leading artifacts displayed at the museum.

This is the Medicube Booster Pro Irworobongdo Edition, which is themed after a traditional folding screen showing the sun, moon and five mountain peaks and made by the cosmetics company APR for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The items were given as official souvenirs to leaders of participating countries and their spouses to promote Korean cultural heritage.

This year, the NMF is expediting the qualitative growth of MU:DS. Its development of region-specific products reflecting cultural heritage featured at the foundation's affiliate museums seeks to stimulate regional economies. The lineup of premium products usable as official gifts from the government and other public institutions will also be expanded.

NMF CEO Choung Yong-suk said, "We will continue to expand possibilities to utilize our cultural heritage."

margareth@korea.kr