‘2025 Collaborative Artist Art Collaboration Goods’ © Seoul Tourism Organization

Seoul Goods, the official Seoul souvenir brand operated by the Seoul Tourism Organization(CEO Gil Gi-yeon, hereafter the Foundation), announced on the 5th that it will launch art collaboration goods created in collaboration with three Seoul-based artists, Junyoung Kang, Grafflex, and Kim Jihee, at all stores.

The three artists, who are actively working while receiving favorable responses from the Korean and international art scenes for their distinctive artistic practices, are already artists who enjoy public recognition and popularity through various collaborations with multiple global brands. This collaboration with these artists is expected to provide a good opportunity not only to enhance the design quality of Seoul Goods, but also to expand the brand.

Seoul Goods’ artist collaboration first began in 2024 with collaborations with artists Artnom, Lee Sara, and Hong Wonpyo. The art collaboration goods produced last year received an enthusiastic response from domestic and international consumers, with eight items selling out their initial stock.

The 2025 art collaboration goods will present 22 products across 13 types, featuring images of Seoul reinterpreted through the individual perspectives and sensibilities of Junyoung Kang, Grafflex, and Kim Jihee. In particular, during the production process of this year’s collaboration goods, differentiation was pursued from the product planning stage, including the composition of customized product groups suited to each artist’s individuality and design tone.

Under the theme “Seoul, a city where culture and time converge,” artist Junyoung Kang will present various goods expressing Seoul’s slogan “SEOUL MY SOUL” through the artist’s own sensibility. Known for his ‘Speech Bubble’ series, which visualizes memory and emotion, Junyoung Kang placed speech bubbles expressed in his distinctive oil painting sensibility onto tumblers, and applied digitized versions of them to keyrings, as well as illustrations depicting Gwanghwamun and Namsan, symbols of Seoul, to T-shirts and shoulder bags.

Kim Jihee, known for her ‘Sealed Smile’ series and for continuing large-scale international exhibitions, reinterpreted Seoul through images of a king and queen wearing glasses by combining Seoul’s traditional beauty with contemporary sensibility. Kim Jihee stated, “With a deep interest in tradition, I have explored various possibilities of Eastern painting for more than ten years, and I find it meaningful that through this collaboration I can communicate the beauty of Seoul in a friendly way.”

Grafflex, who has built a distinctive graphic world through pixel art and bold black lines, incorporated the theme “capturing everyday life in Seoul in a frame” into various goods, including T-shirts and tumblers. Grafflex said, “As someone who was born and raised in Seoul and is active based in Seoul, I am very happy to be able to introduce my Seoul to people,” and expressed Seoul’s landmarks colorfully and trendily as stories within frames.

The art collaboration goods have been available since the 4th at three official offline Seoul Goods sales locations, “Seoul My Soul Shop(Seoul Tourism Plaza branch, Myeongdong Tourist Information Center branch, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts branch),” and various events are being held at each store to celebrate the launch.

Photo zones celebrating the launch of the art collaboration goods will be set up at the Seoul Tourism Plaza branch and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts branch. In particular, at the photo booth prepared at the Sejong Center branch, visitors can take commemorative photos using frames featuring the new art collaboration goods.

Lee Hyejin, head of the Tourism Brand Team, stated, “We are pleased and proud to launch an artist collaboration line with outstanding artists who are loved not only by the Korean and international art scenes, but also by global brands and the public, through their unique artistic worlds.” She added, “We expect that goods specially containing Seoul’s artistic sensibility will expand Seoul’s artistic identity while also playing a meaningful role in revitalizing tourism experiences mediated by art, so-called ‘art tourism.’”

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