Nearly 700,000 people visited the National Museum of Korea last month.
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Museum of Korea is poised to set a new attendance record this year, with officials projecting more than 5 million visitors for the first time in its 80-year history.
As of August 25, the museum had welcomed nearly 4.19 million people, already surpassing the total for all of 2024 and exceeding the previous record of 4.18 million set in 2023.
Maggie Kang (second from left), director of the Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, visited the National Museum of Korea and watched a digital immersive video alongside Director Yoo Hong-jun (far right), while listening to an explanation by Jin-kyung Kim, curator and digital museum specialist.
If current trends continue, attendance could climb as high as 6 million by year’s end, boosted by the upcoming Chuseok holiday in October.
Monthly attendance has surged, peaking at nearly 750,000 in July — the highest single-month figure on record — with daily averages now reaching 24,000.
First Lady Kim Hye-kyung and Ngo Phuong Ly, spouse of To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, pose for a commemorative photo at the National Museum of Korea.
Museum officials cite growing global interest in Korean culture, spurred in part by the popularity of Netflix’s animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, which drew attention to traditional motifs like the gat (Korean hat) and tiger.
The boom has fueled not only visits but also brisk sales of “muse goods,” cultural merchandise derived from artifacts, which generated 11.5 billion won ($8.6 million) in the first half of 2025.
On August 21, Director Yoo Hong-jun of the National Museum of Korea explains the Pensive Bodhisattva statues displayed in the ‘Room of Contemplation’ to Maggie Kang, director of the Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, during her visit to the museum.
But the crush of visitors has also strained facilities. The museum building in Yongsan, designed in 2005 to accommodate a maximum of 18,000 people per day, has struggled with crowding, long parking waits, and concerns over artifact safety.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young tours the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with Director Yoo Hong-jun and poses for a commemorative photo. (Image courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
To ease pressure, the museum plans to construct a new children’s museum three times the current size, scheduled for completion by 2029.
“Visitor numbers have soared, but budgets and facilities remain frozen at 2005 levels,” one official said, calling for expanded funding and staffing.
Image credit: Yonhap, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / photonews@koreabizwire.com
