The National Museum of Korea attracted 1.15 million visitors in the first two months of this year, putting it on track to surpass 6 million annual visitors for the second consecutive year. However, foreign visitors accounted for less than 2% of the total, raising concerns.
According to the National Museum of Korea, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, cumulative visitors from January 1 to February 18 reached 1,158,898. This represents a 38.9% increase from 834,213 visitors during the same period last year.
Monthly figures show 730,473 visitors in January and 428,425 from February 1-18. During the Lunar New Year holiday on February 16 and 18, the museum recorded 86,464 visitors over two days (the museum was closed on February 17, New Year's Day itself). This averages 43,232 daily visitors, far exceeding the recommended daily capacity of 15,000 based on facility size and fire safety regulations.
At the current pace, annual visitors are projected to reach approximately 6 million. Last year, the museum welcomed a record 6,507,483 visitors, the highest since relocating to Yongsan in 2005.
"The participation and appreciation of museum visitors constitute a measure of a nation's culture," Director Yoo Hong-june said at a ceremony marking 300,000 visitors to the "Our Yi Sun-sin" special exhibition held the previous day.
The museum's attendance figures rank among the world's top institutions. "Annual attendance of 6.5 million placed us third globally among museums and art galleries based on 2023 data," Yoo said. "Even by last year's standards, we expect to rank at least fifth."
However, foreign visitor numbers remain disappointing. Only 19,988 foreign visitors came this year, accounting for 1.7% of total attendance. This is similar to the 1.5% (12,665 visitors) recorded during the same period last year.
At a parliamentary audit last year, Director Yoo stated: "In line with the government's policy to expand foreign tourism, we will improve accessibility for foreigners, provide multilingual exhibition content, and strengthen promotional efforts."