By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization hosted 2025 The Souvenir Fair from November 21 to 23 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP).

On November 21, Second Vice Minister Kim Dae-hyun of MCST visited 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.

This year’s fair took place under the theme “Souvenir Land filled with Exciting K-Goods.” The event poster featured 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 was 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.

To make the event more memorable and offer more than the simple experience of souvenir shopping, a number of hands-on and participatory programs were 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.