Discount retailer chain Homeplus began sales of Korean souvenir items on Wednesday in agreement with the Korea Tourism Organization. The KTO, which has held an annual contest for the best Korean souvenir designs for 16 years, selects some of the winning souvenir pieces from this year’s contest and displays them at the Haeundae branch of the retail chain in Busan.

“We have focused on finding creative Korean souvenirs. But we plan to put more effort into promoting good souvenirs to the public,” said Oh Hyeon-jae, director of the Tourism Service Improvement Division of the KTO. The KTO expects to expand the sales network for the souvenirs if the Haeundae branch shows good sales performance.

(wylee@heraldcorp.com)