The National Museum Foundation of Korea said on the 1st that it had exported about $110,000 (roughly 150 million won) worth of goods under its museum merchandise brand MU:DS in connection with a special exhibition co-organized by BTS member RM and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The amount marks the foundation's largest single export to an overseas museum. In October, MU:DS products will also go on sale at the British Museum, where the Lee Kun-hee Collection is on display, expanding the brand's push into North American and European markets.
SFMOMA, a leading museum on the U.S. West Coast, will host the special exhibition "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me" from Oct. 3 through Feb. 7 next year. Co-organized by RM, who also serves as global public relations ambassador for the National Museum of Korea, the show features about 180 works, including pieces from RM's personal collection and from SFMOMA's holdings. The exhibition centers on modern and contemporary Korean art while also introducing works by artists from Korea and abroad.
The foundation is supplying 39 MU:DS items to the SFMOMA museum shop in connection with the exhibition. The initial order came to about $110,000, up roughly 71% from the combined $64,000 from two shipments tied to last year's special exhibition of Lee Kun-hee's donated works at the Smithsonian.
The flagship product is the "Pensive Bodhisattva Miniature (Maum Series)," inspired by the Pensive Bodhisattva statue at the National Museum of Korea. The item adds the humor of artist Choi Go-sim to the miniature, a MU:DS bestseller, featuring playful hand gestures such as a cheek heart, a two-handed heart and a thumbs-up. The product drew attention after becoming known as part of RM's own collection. Other items draw on Korean cultural heritage and artworks including moon jars, celadon, mother-of-pearl inlay and traditional wrapping cloths.
The foundation also supplied 18 MU:DS items tied to "Korea: 2,000 years of creativity," running at the British Museum from Oct. 1 through Jan. 31, 2027, as the final stop on the overseas tour of the Lee Kun-hee Collection.
MU:DS products are also being introduced to athletes and visitors from across Asia at the Korea House for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Later this year, the foundation plans to roll out products tied to special exhibitions on Silk Road cultural exchange and Buddhist art at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Jung Yong-seok, president of the National Museum Foundation of Korea, said showing MU:DS at SFMOMA and the British Museum demonstrates that the overseas stage for Korean museum products is expanding into North America and Europe. He added that the foundation will continue to introduce the appeal of Korean cultural heritage around the world with products that reflect local exhibitions and visitor interest.
