Pensive Bodhisattva replica to head to Milano Olympics

Special edition of the Pensive Bodhisattva’s miniature replica series created for the National Museum of Korea’s 20th anniversary (National Museum Foundation Korea)

Riding on the growing popularity, the National Museum of Korea’s heritage goods will go on sale at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in February.

The National Museum Foundation of Korea will offer about 15 of the most popular merchandise and heritage-inspired design products at the Korea House, a promotional pavilion operated during the Olympic Games.

“This marks our first direct sales venture. While our previous collaboration with the Smithsonian in Washington was our first export case, this is the first time we are selling our products ourselves,” an official from the National Museum Foundation of Korea told The Korea Herald on Tuesday.

The museum's merchandise brand, MU:DS, derives its name from "museum goods" and was created in 2024 to reflect the trend of rebranding cultural heritage products for younger audiences.

MU:DS products on offer during the Olympic Games include the special edition of the Pensive Bodhisattva’s miniature replica series, created for the National Museum of Korea’s 20th anniversary, and the magpie-and-tiger badge that gained popularity for its resemblance to characters in "KPop Demon Hunters."

The foundation recently exported Korean heritage merchandise for the exhibition “Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, the first overseas exhibition of the late Samsung founder Lee Kun-hee’s donated artworks to Korean state museums.

“The entire first shipment sold out really fast, and the second order has already been delivered. Together, the two batches generated sales worth about 100 million won ($68,000),” the official said.