Korea Tourism Souvenir Expo to Be Held at DDP from November 21 to 23

The "2025 Korea Tourism Souvenir Expo," where visitors can experience Korea’s representative tourism souvenirs in one place, will be held from November 21 to 23 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Art Hall 1 and 2. This event is hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Tourism Organization, with support from the National Museum Foundation, National Heritage Promotion Agency, Korea Craft & Design Foundation, Korea Tourism Association, and Hyundai Department Store.

Now in its fourth year, the expo saw approximately 365 companies and organizations express their intention to participate, marking a 39% increase from the previous year. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism selected 134 of these companies to set up booths. The number of booths has increased from 107 last year, and the expo duration has also been extended from two days to three days this year.

This year’s expo is themed "A Souvenir Land Filled with Exciting K-Goods."

The Souvenir Land space will feature booths inspired by amusement park shops such as candy stores, a "2025 Tourism Souvenir Contest Winners’ Exhibition Zone" reminiscent of a carousel, a "Souvenir Select Shop" with a gift shop vibe, a "Local Government Tourism Souvenir Exhibition Zone" inspired by travel suitcases, and a "Magic Tunnel" rest area decorated with vibrant colors and imaginative designs.

Additionally, various participatory events will be held to help visitors remember and experience tourism souvenirs in unique ways. These include an award-winning quiz show with comedians Kim Wonhun and Um Ji-yoon, a tourism souvenir branding talk with Noh Heeyoung, a souvenir storytelling show with K-beauty content creators, hands-on experiences using gold leaf and other award-winning works, and tourism souvenir discounts. Other fun activities include pre-registration and social media-linked reusable bag giveaways, complimentary "Sungsimdang Pure Madeleine" gifts, random prize draws for event winners, photo booth experiences, prize draws for verified purchase receipts, and a 3X3 bingo board challenge, all adding excitement to the expo.

In particular, a business-to-business consultation event will be held to support market expansion and promote collaboration within the industry. Prior to the expo, experts and companies will be connected for on-site one-on-one consultations covering all aspects of sales, including design, packaging, branding, and distribution channels. The event will also support product placement through consultations between product companies and representatives from distribution channels such as Hyundai Home Shopping and Wadiz.

Further details about this year’s expo can be found on the official website.

On November 21, Vice Minister Kim Daehyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will visit the venue to mark the start of the nation’s only tourism souvenir expo and encourage the contest winners. Vice Minister Kim stated, "With the global popularity of K-content, K-goods such as tourism souvenirs are also attracting significant attention, yet there are still many outstanding products that remain undiscovered. The Ministry will continue to actively discover, promote, and spread excellent tourism souvenirs, laying a solid foundation for the tourism souvenir industry."