Korean Entrepreneur Runs GEM Gift Shop, Proposes New Cultural-Economic Model for Egypt
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Kwon Jae-young, a Korean co-founder of MUSEEUM, won the operating rights for the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) gift shop, beating 16 global institutions. Leveraging his background in consulting and a network tied to his husband’s Egyptian construction family, Kwon organized a 150-artisan, all-Egypt production network to modernize traditional crafts (e.g., Nubian embroidery, Akhmim textiles). He designed restrained navy/gold/beige products and drew inspiration from unexpected details—like the back of Tutankhamun’s mask—to create bestsellers, shifting the shop to a fast “pick-up” retail flow. GEM shop sales surged tenfold after the museum opened, and Kwon plans to expand from national museums to the Gulf (GCC), aiming to connect artisans, design, tourism, and distribution as a new “civilization retail” model for Egypt.
