Busan is good

Busan’s Representative Intangible Heritage Merchandise Brand “Gohwaye” Surpasses KRW 100 Million in Cumulative Sales from 2022 to 2025

내용

Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that “Gohwaye (古와藝),” an intangible-heritage-based cultural product jointly developed and operated with the Busan Intangible Cultural Property Association (Chairman Kim Seong-yul, hereinafter “the Association”), surpassed KRW 102 million in cumulative sales from 2022 through 2025.

This year’s sales reached KRW 32 million (January–November 2025), representing a significant year-on-year increase of approximately 63 percent.

Gohwaye is the city’s signature cultural merchandise brand that reinterprets local cultural heritage in a contemporary manner, offering both citizens and tourists an accessible way to appreciate traditional culture. After launching as a pilot initiative in 2020, the brand began full-scale product sales in 2022.

This year, both online and offline sales channels were expanded, and new designers were recruited to enhance product designs and strengthen brand competitiveness.

In addition, promotional activities were continued throughout major cultural heritage events such as the Busan Comprehensive Folk Arts Festival and the Busan Intangible Heritage Art Fair. The city also produced official promotional videos to increase online exposure, creating more opportunities for citizens to encounter the brand naturally.

To date, a total of 56 products have been developed. This year alone, six new items were released, including the “Gat Incense Holder (Diffuser),” inspired by Dongnae Crane Dance, and the “Arirang Music Box,” featuring Dongnae Drum Dance motifs, thereby further diversifying the product lineup.

Busan Metropolitan City also plans to strengthen its collaboration with the Busan Intangible Heritage Art Fair, which allows consumers to directly purchase works created by intangible heritage holders. Through this collaboration, the city aims to build a mutually beneficial sales network involving institutions, companies, and artists.

Furthermore, in preparation for the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee Session to be held in Busan in 2026, the city is developing English-language promotional content and global marketing strategies to broaden the international reach of the Gohwaye brand during this major event.

Detailed product information is available on the Gohwaye website (gohwaye.com) or by contacting the Busan Traditional Arts Center at 051-758-2530. Bulk purchasing and engraving services are also offered.

Meanwhile, recognizing the strong preference public institutions have shown for Gohwaye products, the city will—for the first time since the program’s launch—conduct in-person promotional visits and demand surveys at public institutions beginning in December, in cooperation with the Association. Findings from the survey, including preferred product categories by institution, will be incorporated into the 2026 product development strategy.

Cho Yoo-jang, Director of the City’s Culture Bureau, stated, “Our continued efforts to nurture the regional intangible heritage industry are showing meaningful results. We will keep supporting the sector in a systematic manner so that intangible heritage practitioners can build a stable foundation for sustainable growth, while further cultivating the intangible heritage industry as a future high-value-added sector.”