Sales of national museum merchandise sold under the “MU:DS” brand—a portmanteau of  "museum" and "goods"—hit 41-point-three billion won, or roughly 28 million U.S. dollars, in annual sales last year, marking a record high driven by ongoing worldwide interest in South Korean culture.

According to the National Museum Cultural Foundation on Tuesday, annual sales of MU:DS products in 2025 was nearly two times higher than the previous year, when sales reached about 21-point-three billion won, or around 14-point-four million dollars.

The growing popularity of museum merchandise also led to more interest in museums, with the annual number of visitors to the National Museum of Korea topping six-point-five million for the first time.

Last year, the Netflix animation smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters" sparked a global craze that helped sell 90-thousand magpie and tiger badges or pins that resemble characters in the movie.

Riding the “Korean Wave,” the foundation has been expanding to overseas markets and said that its MU:DS products sold out in the opening week of the Lee Kun-hee Collection exhibition held at the The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C.

The foundation said it plans to boost cooperation with overseas museums and continue its global expansion in connection with major international events such as the upcoming 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games.