A festival is set to open where visitors can find the best tourism souvenirs of Korea. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister CHAE Hwi-young, MCST) and the Korea Tourism Organization are hosting the 2025 The Souvenir Fair from November 21 (Friday) to 23 (Sunday) at Art Halls 1 and 2 of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). On November 21 (Friday), Second Vice Minister Kim Dae-hyun of MCST will visit the venue to mark the opening of Korea’s only tourism souvenir fair and to encourage the winners of this year’s souvenir competition.

In celebration of its fourth year, the ministry has expanded both the duration (from two to three days) and scale (from 107 to 134 booths) of the fair to ensure more visitors can enjoy a wider selection of souvenirs. With growing interest in the fair year after year, a total of 365 companies and organizations, an increase of approximately 39% year-on-year, applied for the event, where 134 finalists were selected to showcase their products during the fair.

Opening of Souvenir Land, offering a thrilling yet special experience, just like a theme park

This year’s fair will take place under the theme “Souvenir Land filled with Exciting K-Goods.” The event poster features images that allude to the concept of Souvenir Land, hiding tourism souvenirs in plain sight such as a Joseon royal wine bottle stopper, Daemongjae 1779 traditional liquor, and glittering  gold leaf craft kit, inviting visitors to discover and enjoy them within the poster artwork.

The Souvenir Land exhibition area is inspired by theme parks, with booths of participating companies and organizations filling the streets like candy stores, along with a carousel-like exhibit zone of 2025 Tourism Souvenir Competition winning items, a gift-shop-themed Souvenir Select Shop, a Local Tourism Souvenir Exhibition Zone designed after travel luggage, and a Magic Tunnel lookalike resting area filled with vivid colors and imagination-provoking designs. Visitors can wander through this non-linear space to encounter various K-Goods, from crafts to processed food and stationery as well as beauty and fashion items, each blending Korea’s unique cultural heritage with touches of fresh flair.

To make the event more memorable and offer more than the simple experience of souvenir shopping, a number of hands-on and participatory programs will be offered. These include a quiz show on the winning products hosted by comedians Kim Won-hoon and Eom Ji-yoon, a branding talk on souvenirs with Noh Hee-young, a souvenir show & tell show with K-beauty content creators, hands-on gold leaf craft making programs with award-winning works, and discount promotions for souvenir products. Additional interactive events will also add to the fun, including reusable bags for pre-registered attendees and SNS event participants, Sungsimdang “pure madeleine” giveaways, random prize draw events, photo booth snapshots, purchase rewards based on receipt amounts, and a 3X3 bingo stamp tour.

Opportunity to expand sales channels through B2B consultations and potential joint partnerships

This year’s festival will host B2B consultation sessions to support the growth and expansion of the industry. Companies are to be matched with experts prior to the fair to receive one-on-one onsite guidance across the key sales areas of design, packaging, branding, and distribution. Souvenir producers will meet with companies with major distribution networks, such as Hyundai Home Shopping and Wadiz, and receive guidance for product placement in major distribution channels.

The Ministry will continue to support the expansion of distribution channels even after the fair to ensure effective and lasting support for the participants, extending the support to both offline channels, including renowned select shops and multi-cultural spaces, and online lifestyle platforms, as well as for overseas market entry, to upscale the tourism souvenir sector of Korea.

More information about the fair is available on the official website: kto.visitkorea.or.kr/kor/souvenir.

“While K-goods, including tourism souvenirs, are gaining increasing attention from global audiences with the rise of K-content, many outstanding products still remain under the radar,” said Second Vice Minister. “MCST will continue to actively discover, promote, and distribute high-quality tourism souvenir products to solidify the foundation of the tourism souvenir sector.”