For the first time since the National Museum opened in 1945, it has surpassed 5 million annual visitors.
From January to the 15th of this month, cumulative visitors reached 5,016,382. Domestic visitors accounted for 4,830,677, while foreign visitors totaled 185,705.
Experts inside and outside the museum attributed the unprecedented success to the ‘Meditation Room’ exhibiting two National Treasures, the Gilt-bronze Pensive Bodhisattva, side by side, making the museum a destination with abundant permanent exhibitions, sophisticated and stylish exhibition techniques, the explosive popularity of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters and the MU:DS craze.
Like the Louvre Museum’s 'Mona Lisa', the ‘Meditation Room’ has become a representative brand of the National Museum of Korea. In a 439-square-meter space embracing a vast universe, only two National Treasures, the Gilt-bronze Pensive Bodhisattvas, are displayed. As visitors walk through the dark, long entrance, distractions fade, and a surreal encounter upon turning the corner elicits gasps. Visitors silently contemplate the statues, circling them like a ritual.
The museum has since innovatively reorganized galleries such as the Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery, Celadon Gallery, Donation Gallery, Oegyujanggak Uigwe Hall, and Prehistory and Ancient History Gallery. It has risen as a world-renowned museum attracting visitors through permanent exhibitions alone, akin to the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Digital immersive video galleries utilizing cutting-edge technologies like digital mapping and VR, along with stylish exhibition techniques, have also contributed.
Global interest in K-culture, the explosive popularity of Netflix’s animation *KPop Demon Hunters*, and the MU:DS craze further fueled the success. The monthly visitor distribution highlights the *KPop Demon Hunters* effect: 513,262 visitors in January, 474,731 in June, but a surge to 747,690 in July after the show’s release. August, overlapping with summer vacation and holidays, saw the highest attendance (864,977), driven by university students, young generations, and tourists.
Total visitors to the National Museum of Korea and its 13 affiliated museums nationwide reached 11,296,254, nearing this year’s professional baseball attendance (12,312,519 as of October 4) and surpassing professional soccer (1,963,301 as of October 5). The museum noted, “This reflects cultural demand rivaling sports. At the current pace, total museum visitors may surpass professional baseball attendance by year-end.”
Director Yoo Hong-jun stated, “As K-culture spreads and interest in traditional culture grows, museum visitors have reached levels comparable to professional baseball. We will expand visitor-centered content, improve the viewing environment, and strengthen cultural heritage preservation to make the museum a daily cultural space.”
Main Image: National Museum of Korea Meditation Room