On Oct. 28, at the Conservation Science Center’s stone conservation room inside the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, staff members conduct wet cleaning and laser cleaning. The center opened in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the museum’s relocation to Yongsan. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Museum is poised to surpass 6 million annual visitors for the first time in its 80-year history, cementing its position among the world’s most-visited cultural institutions.
The museum said that as of Nov. 30, it had recorded 5.81 million visitors in 2025. With attendance climbing steadily, the total is expected to cross the 6-million mark as early as next week. It would be the highest figure since the museum’s founding in December 1945.
The surge comes as global interest in Korean culture continues to rise, boosted this year by the popularity of the Netflix animated film K-pop Demon Hunters and the museum’s merchandising success with its “Muze” product line. Over its eight decades, the museum has drawn more than 100 million total visitors.
Miniatures of the Pensive Bodhisattva are on display at the National Museum of Korea in this Aug. 20, 2025, file photo. (Yonhap)
By global standards, the National Museum now ranks among the world’s top cultural destinations. According to The Art Newspaper, the Louvre welcomed 8.74 million visitors in 2024, followed by the Vatican Museums and the British Museum. Seoul’s institution is approaching that tier, the museum noted, as it seeks to position itself as a centerpiece of K-culture.
Founded in the aftermath of liberation from Japanese rule, the National Museum began with modest attendance—just 4,500 visitors in its first month. The museum expanded its footprint across regional branches over the decades and experienced a major leap when it relocated to its current Yongsan complex in 2005. Attendance hit 3 million the following year and has climbed steadily, except for 2020 when pandemic shutdowns sharply reduced traffic.
On Oct. 28, at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, staff members from the museum’s Conservation Science Center conduct wet and laser cleaning in the stone conservation room. The center was opened to mark the 20th anniversary of the museum’s relocation to Yongsan. (Yonhap)
This year’s attendance is roughly 47 times higher than in 1946. Meanwhile, the museum’s collection has grown from 46,882 items to nearly 440,000, driven in part by major donations, including the 2021 gift of more than 21,000 works from the family of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Regional branches also reported strong numbers: the Gyeongju National Museum drew 1.76 million visitors from January to November, followed by Buyeo and Gongju. Combined, the national museum network recorded 13.4 million visitors so far this year, marking the third straight year above 10 million.
Despite its growing prominence, the museum faces challenges, including debates over potential admission fees, expanding its limited exhibition capacity—only about 4 percent of its holdings are on display—and developing new digital and AI-based content.
At the media preview for the exhibition “Our Admiral Yi Sun-sin” held at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, on Nov. 27, a visitor looks at original manuscripts of the Nanjung Ilgi (War Diary) and related artifacts. The exhibition, organized to mark the 480th anniversary of Admiral Yi’s birth and the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, will be open to the public free of charge through Dec. 4. A panel displays one of Yi’s famous maxims: “Those who are determined to die will live, and those who wish to live will die.” (Yonhap)
Yoo Hong-joon, director of the National Museum, said the institution will continue preparing “for the next 100 years as a center of Korean culture.”
Visitors line up to enter the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, on Oct. 8, the sixth day of the Chuseok holiday. (Yonhap)
Image credit: The National Museum of Korea, Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
