Korea Tourism Organization 2025 Korea Tourism Competition Offers Total Prize of 45.7 Million Won

The Korea Tourism Organization will hold the 2025 Korea Tourism Competition Souvenir Category under the slogan "Embracing Korea, Gifting the Region" until May 23.

The competition is open to souvenirs featuring attractive content based on Korea and its regions' history, culture, and nature. Entries will be selected in two categories: the general category, which captures the appeal of Korea, and the local specialization category, which reflects the unique characteristics of each region.

This year, a new "Innovation Award" has been established for practical and well-conceived souvenirs priced at 30,000 won or less, encouraging submissions of products that can be mass-produced domestically. In addition, the number of awards from the CEO of Hyundai Department Store will increase from two to five, further supporting distribution channels.

A total of 25 winners will be selected, including the President's Award (10 million won) and the Prime Minister's Award (4 million won each), with the total prize pool amounting to 45.7 million won.

The Korea Tourism Organization plans to provide practical follow-up support to the winning companies, including one-on-one consulting, business education, assistance with linking to distribution channels, and eligibility to apply for tourism fund loans. The winning entries will be showcased at the 2025 Korea Tourism Souvenir Expo, to be held from November 21 to 23 at DDP.

Further details about the 2025 Korea Tourism Competition Souvenir Category can be found on the Korea Tourism Organization's website.

Yoo Hansoon, head of the Shopping and Accommodation Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "Through this competition, the Korea Tourism Organization is not only selecting outstanding tourism souvenirs but also supporting the development of distribution channels through more than 100 private sector collaborations each year. This year, we aim to select products that combine production capacity and price competitiveness to meet the needs of domestic and international tourists and to strengthen practical distribution support."

Last year's winning entries from the tourism competition are currently being sold at The Hyundai Seoul and the Cheongwadae Sarangchae souvenir shop, and have also entered the Osaka Expo pop-up store, which opened on April 13. In particular, Shellang Korea and Suansu Design have launched collaboration products at the Disney Store operated by Hyundai Department Store.