Uniforms and Merchandise Draw 2,000 Buyers at Gocheok Dome
Women in Their 20s and 30s Lead the Rise of a New Fandom
To commemorate the national baseball team’s evaluation match, the “2025 Naver K-Baseball Series” (NAVER K-BASEBALL SERIES, against the Czech Republic), held on November 8 and 9, collaborative merchandise presented by the Korea national baseball team and the National Museum Cultural Foundation has gained significant popularity.
On November 9, Yonhap News Agency reported that the National Museum Cultural Foundation’s collaborative products, developed with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) under its own cultural heritage-based brand “MU:DS,” are enjoying strong demand.
The collaboration consists of a total of ten items, including replica uniforms, caps, T-shirts, marking kits, keyrings, commemorative baseballs, and cheering bats. The designs reinterpret in a modern way the colors and patterns of cultural assets such as the magpie and tiger from the late Joseon Dynasty folk painting “Jakho-do,” as well as museum artifacts like the mother-of-pearl lotus vine-patterned box, the longevity symbol box, the Denny Taegukgi, and the “Irwol Obongdo” folding screen.
The merchandise was initially sold at outdoor stores at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where the evaluation match against the Czech Republic took place. Lines began forming early in the morning, and about 2,000 people queued on the day of the first game.
The National Museum Cultural Foundation partnered with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to produce "Myootz" (Museum + Goods). National Museum Cultural Foundation
Some products quickly sold out and are now being resold on the secondhand market at prices higher than the original. Some consumers have resold uniforms, originally priced at 169,000 won, for around 230,000 won. According to the KBO, the most popular uniform customizations were for Hanwha’s Moon Hyunbin and Samsung’s Won Taein.
The National Museum Cultural Foundation has recently collaborated with brands such as Casetify and Starbucks, applying traditional patterns to mass consumer goods, and has now expanded such collaborations into the sports sector. Jung Yongseok, President of the National Museum Cultural Foundation, stated, “We hope this provides an opportunity for people to naturally experience traditional culture through baseball.”
This popularity aligns with the shift in the professional baseball fan base from being male-dominated to now centering on women in their 20s and 30s. These consumers actively purchase merchandise for specific players and teams and have become the main drivers of fandom culture. According to a Korea Baseball Organization survey, women in their 20s spend an average of about 237,000 won per year on baseball-related goods, while women in their 30s spend about 273,000 won, both exceeding the previous average spending.
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