SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Friday it will expand sales channels for award-winning souvenirs from the Korea Tourism Contest to duty-free shops and tax-refund pharmacies, key shopping destinations for foreign tourists.

Since this month, the KTO has been supporting the phased entry of award-winning tourism souvenirs into PanPan Duty Free, Lotte Duty Free's Jeju store and Shinsegae Duty Free's Myeongdong store.

Eight companies entered PanPan Duty Free on Oct. 1, while 17 companies have participated at Lotte Duty Free's Jeju store since Oct. 23 and 15 companies at Shinsegae Duty Free's Myeongdong store since Oct. 29.

Pharmacies, which have emerged as new shopping destinations among foreign tourists, will also be used as sales channels.

The KTO is working with Pharmspace, a platform company specializing in pharmacies, to place the souvenirs in major pharmacies. Starting with Beauty Onnuri Pharmacy at the Musinsa Beauty Hongdae store next month, the organization plans to gradually expand the number of sales locations.

In particular, the KTO plans to enhance shopping convenience by linking the sales channels with post-purchase tax refund services, which allow foreign tourists to receive immediate tax refunds when purchasing goods.

The tourism souvenirs being introduced include "Bok-eul Dam-eun Sonmok-byegeo," a wrist pillow inspired by a Joseon royal pillow artifact, and "Handheld Korean Mountains, Saekdong Gonggi," a traditional game product capturing the beauty of Korean landscape paintings.

Song Eun-kyung, head of the KTO's Shopping and Accommodation Team, said, "Tourism souvenirs are evolving beyond simple travel mementos into K-goods that introduce Korea's culture and appeal to the world," adding, "We will continue to discover new distribution channels in line with changing tourist consumption trends and actively support excellent tourism souvenirs in gaining global competitiveness."

jwc@yna.co.kr

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