National Museum of Korea to exceed 5 million annual visitors for the first time

▲ Visitors spend time viewing exhibits at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Aug. 1, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- The National Museum of Korea is on track to set a new attendance record this year, with projections indicating it could surpass 5 million annual visitors for the first time since its founding in 1945.

According to museum data released on Tuesday, 4,189,822 people visited the institution between January 1 and August 25. The figure already exceeds the total attendance of 3,788,785 recorded for all of 2024, and also breaks the all-time high of 4,180,285 from 2023—the first year the museum crossed the 4 million mark.

At the current pace, the museum is expected to reach the 5 million milestone by year-end, a first in its 80-year history. A museum official said the figure reflects preliminary tallies for the permanent exhibition halls, adding that numbers could increase further if theater shows, educational programs and other activities are included.

Monthly visitor numbers have shown steady growth this year, topping 500,000 in both January and February, and soaring to 747,679 in July. That translates to an average of about 24,000 people per day as of last month. Attendance in August has already surpassed 700,000.

▲ Visitors spend time viewing exhibits at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Aug. 1, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Observers attribute the surge to rising global interest in Korean culture, recently fueled by the worldwide success of the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters," which prominently features traditional motifs such as the Korean hat gat and tigers. The museum has said the phenomenon reflects the expansion of the Korean Wave beyond K-pop and K-food to "K-tradition."

The growing attendance spans generations, particularly people in their 20s and 30s. Combined annual visitors to the National Museum of Korea and its 13 affiliated museums have topped 10 million for two consecutive years in 2023-2024, with foreign visitors also hitting an all-time high in 2024. Sales of "muse" — museum-themed merchandise — reached 11.5 billion won (US$8.4 million) in the first half of this year alone.

▲ This photo, provided by Netflix, shows a scene from "K-pop Demon Hunters." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

With monthly attendance averaging nearly 490,000 between January and July, the annual total could potentially reach as high as 6 million by December. The upcoming Chuseok holiday in October is also expected to further increase the numbers.

The rapid increase has raised concerns about safety and infrastructure capacity. When the museum opened at its Yongsan site in 2005, its exhibition halls were designed to accommodate a maximum of about 18,000 visitors per day. But recent surges, especially during the summer vacation season, have strained facilities, raising red flags over artifact safety, exhibition conditions and visitor convenience.

The museum has urged visitors to use public transportation, warning that parking lots may require over an hour of waiting due to congestion. Additional guides and security staff have been deployed at the entrances. Plans are also under way to build a new children's museum on the grounds, three times the current size, with family-friendly rest areas. The expansion is scheduled for completion by 2029.

A museum official said, 'Visitor numbers have grown significantly, but our budget and facilities have remained the same since the Yongsan relocation in 2005,' stressing the need for increased resources and staffing.

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Korea selected to host UNESCO's World Heritage Committee for the first time

Delegates at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee at Unesco headquarters in Paris adopt Decision 15, confirming Busan as the host city for the 48th session in 2026, on July 15. [NEWS1]

Korea has been selected as the hosting country for the upcoming UNESCO World Heritage Committee, marking the first time the country will host the annual meeting since the committee's inception in 1977.

Some 3,000 participants, including delegations from 196 signatory states, the UNESCO director-general, academic experts and representatives from non-governmental organizations, will be gathering in Korea's port city Busan, in July 2026 for the 48th session of the committee.

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The committee announced the decision on Tuesday at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Busan had already been selected as Korea's candidate through a domestic bidding process.

The World Heritage Committee, established under the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, serves as the convention's top decision-making body.

It meets annually to add sites deemed to have outstanding universal value to the World Heritage list and to discuss measures for their preservation.

Only the 21 committee member states may host the meeting. Korea secured its fourth term on the committee last November, which runs through 2027, paving the way to hold the event. It will be the first time Korea hosts the session since joining the convention in 1988.

Choi Eung-chon, head of the Korea Heritage Service, center, and the Korean delegation applaud after Korea is confirmed as the next host of the World Heritage Committee at the 47th session at Unesco headquarters in Paris on July 15. [YONHAP]

Asia has previously hosted several times, with Japan in 1998, China twice in 2004 and 2021, India in 2024, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia representing West Asia in 2014 and 2023, respectively. Korea will become the eighth Asian country to host the meeting.

This year holds special meaning for us as it marks the 30th anniversary of the inscription of Korea's first World Heritage site," said Choi Eung-chon, head of the Korea Heritage Service, in Korea's acceptance speech. "Korea regards the upcoming session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan as a truly meaningful moment to reaffirm the shared responsibility of all humanity for the protection of our common heritage. We are fully committed to ensuring that the next session is organized in an efficient and well-coordinated manner.

Korea currently has 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including 15 cultural sites and two natural sites. It started with the inscription of Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple, Haeinsa Janggyeong Panjeon and Jongmyo Shrine in 1995. The latest addition is the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream.

Meanwhile, Choi's term ends at midnight on Tuesday. He took office on May 13, 2022. Paleontologist Huh Min, a professor of geology at Chonnam National University, has been nominated to succeed him. This marks the first time a paleontologist has been appointed to lead the agency since it was reorganized from the Cultural Heritage Administration into the Korea Heritage Service last year.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY KANG HYE-RAN [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]

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