[Edaily Reporter Kim Ji-woo ] CU has partnered with the National Heritage Promotion Agency and craft beer company Sevenbrau to promote Korea’s national heritage to domestic and international tourists through a craft beer package.

BGF Retail, which operates CU, announced on the 14th that it has unveiled new packaging for three varieties of its craft beer—“Daepyo,” “Hangang,” and “Gangseo”—featuring national heritage sites such as Gyeonghuaru Pavilion at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namhansanseong Fortress, and Goseokjeong Pavilion in Cheorwon.

This collaboration was organized to promote the “National Heritage Visit Campaign,” which the National Heritage Promotion Agency has been spearheading since 2020. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the campaign by reinterpreting national heritage sites as product content that can be encountered in everyday life.

Each product was designed around major landmarks included in the “Ten Paths” of the National Heritage Visit Campaign. The “Royal Family Path” package features Gyeonghuaru Pavilion at Gyeongbokgung Palace, while the “Han River” package depicts Namhansanseong Fortress, which is part of the same route. The “Gangseo” package features Goseokjeong Pavilion in Cheorwon, included in the “Prehistoric Geology Path.”

A QR code linking to the National Heritage Visit Campaign website is also printed on the bottom of each product. This allows customers who purchase the products to immediately access information about the national heritage sites featured on the packaging and related tourist attractions.

CU will sell these three types of craft beer in packs of four cans for 10,000 won through September. The company has set up mini pop-up stores at five locations—the CU Goseokjeong, Samcheong, Myeongdong Station, Hongdae Sang-sang, and New Jeju branches—where customers who make a purchase will receive a beer-shaped keychain.

CU’s decision to use convenience stores as a promotional channel for national heritage stems from the simultaneous rise in both the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea and the use of convenience stores by foreigners. According to the Korea Tourism Data Lab of the Korea Tourism Organization, the cumulative number of foreign tourists visiting Korea over the past year has exceeded 20 million. CU’s transaction volume using overseas payment methods increased by 107.2% last year compared to the previous year and rose by 86.3% in the first half of this year.

Hwang Cheol-joong, a Merchandise Planner (MD) on the Liquor Team at BGF Retail, said, “Convenience stores are emerging as an effective channel for promoting campaigns to foreign tourists,” adding, “As Korea’s leading convenience store chain, we will expand our customer touchpoints through various collaborative products.”