Sales of cultural merchandise from Korea's national museums topped 20 billion won ($13 million) for the first time in the first half of this year, driven by the global popularity of Korean culture, sources in the cultural sector said Monday. The National Museum Foundation of Korea's official merchandise brand MU:DS recorded about 21.8 billion won in sales from January to June, up roughly 90 percent from 11.48 billion won a year earlier, according to the sources. MU:DS — a portmanteau of "museum" and "goods" — produces items inspired by key artifacts housed at the National Museum of Korea and its regional affiliates. Since the foundation's launch in 2004, the brand has grown steadily, surpassing 10 billion won in annual sales for the first time in 2022 and reaching a record 41.3 billion won last year. This year's first-half sales have already exceeded MU:DS' total revenue for 2024, which stood at about 21.28 billion won. Foreign customers accounted for around 1 billion won in sales during the period, nearly doubling from a year earlier, a foundation official said. Among the bestselling