#. Office worker Choi Jung-eun (32) plays soft songs on YouTube before bed three times a week for meditation. She calms her mind while practicing singing bowls and ends her day by looking at a poster with the phrase "Listen to your inner voice" and an image of Buddha hanging in her home. Choi is not a Buddhist, but she says that messages from Buddhism help her manage her emotions in daily life.
Buddhism is gaining attention as content for "healing and mindfulness," including fashion, goods, and meditation. As the 2030 generation, exhausted by burnout, embraces Buddhism as a hobby to care for their minds, the retail industry is also utilizing everything from goods with witty phrases and designs based on Buddhist philosophy to meditation tools.
According to the retail industry on the 10th, Buddhist lifestyle brands have recently increased significantly. "Babantu," a Buddhist fashion brand that became a topic of discussion when BTS RM wore its clothing, is a prime example. The brand attracted attention with products that break away from solemn Buddhist imagery, such as T-shirts featuring Buddha wearing headphones and posters combining the phrase "You were born with a destiny to succeed" with an image of Buddha.
The pop-up store for Babantu held by Lotte Department Store at its Busan Main Branch in June saw the purchase share of the 2030 generation exceed half. Musinsa exclusively launched the "Babantu Zen Mood Collection" in May and held a pop-up at its Hongdae store. It showcased over 100 items, including 16 exclusive products such as hats, bags, keychains, and pants.
The pop-up store in collaboration with Buddhist lifestyle brand Haet-tal Company held by Lotte Department Store at its Busan Main Branch in July recorded more than 3,000 visitors over one week. Products that creatively interpreted Buddhist philosophy, such as the "Nirvana is the vibe" T-shirt, "Enlighten! Clicker Keychain," and "Big Wisdom Mug Cup," were popular. The purchase share of the 2030 generation among customers was found to be 80%.
Lotte Mall held a "Hip Buddhism" pop-up at its Gimpo Airport branch from the 3rd to the 9th. Brands that interpret Buddhism in a modern way, such as "Hip Buds," "Hanabanama," "Buddha to Buddha," and "Nirva," participated, showcasing items like the "Don't Avoid, Be Happy Mug Cup" and "Sentient Being Doll" keychains. The event also included a program where customers could leave sentences containing their wishes, which would be taken to a temple after the event for prayers on their behalf.
Galleria Department Store focused on meditation. It opened a pop-up store for the domestic singing bowl brand "O-gam-so" at its Seoul Luxury Hall and sold singing bowls as meditation auxiliary tools. Singing bowls are tools originating from Buddhist culture that help relax the mind and body through sound resonance. The lineup included beginner products up to professional sets in the 1st million won range.
Starfield Suwon showcased an unusual goods pop-up themed "Inner Peace." It sold items such as a statue of Maitreya in deep thought, moktak keychains, and Bulguksa temple door handle magnets, which are said to ward off bad luck.
The industry is lowering the threshold for religion by reinterpreting Buddha's teachings and Buddhist symbols not as direct transmissions but into forms familiar to younger generations, such as fashion, characters, design, and meditation. A prominent feature of the products is that they focus more on messages or tastes that evoke daily life rather than religious meaning. A Lotte Department Store official stated, "Recently, brands reinterpreting Buddhism are being perceived by the younger generation as new and fun cultural experiences, while for older generations, they are seen as content containing insights into life."
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