"We Came to See the King's Dragon Robe"... National Palace Museum of Korea Becomes a Pilgrimage Site Thanks to K-Content

As the global popularity of K-content fuels interest in Korean history, more foreign visitors are coming to the National Palace Museum of Korea. Many are eager to see in person the traditional artifacts they had only seen on screen, and they constantly stop to take commemorative photos. They also expressed satisfaction with the convenient guide and interpretation services and the wide range of souvenirs, saying in unison, "It's hard to believe admission is free."
According to the Korea Heritage Service on the 2nd, the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno District, Seoul, received 239,910 foreign visitors last year, accounting for about 29% of its total 837,826 visitors. The number has risen every year, from 44,579 (6.9%) in 2022, at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, to 153,332 (17.4%) in 2023 and 196,397 (23.9%) in 2024. This January alone, 18,556 foreigners—again 29% of all visitors—came to the museum.
When this newspaper visited the museum on the same day, the flow of foreign visitors was constant. In particular, many had come straight from Gyeongbokgung Palace still dressed in hanbok. They stopped in front of glass display cases to take photos or carefully read the explanatory texts. Opened in 2008, the National Palace Museum of Korea exhibits royal garments, crafts, paintings, and calligraphy used during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire.
Foreign visitors who came to the museum after experiencing K-content spoke with one voice in praising how easy it was to look around. Jessica (27), from Chicago, United States, said, "As a fan who has watched 'KPop Demon Hunters' more than five times, I really wanted to see the gat and hanbok that appear in the film," adding, "There is a dedicated information desk for foreigners, and each floor has staff, robots, and maps with foreign languages, so I never felt a language barrier. It was also convenient to be able to leave my luggage."

Nantacha (32) from Thailand, who said she has been a fan of actor Park Ji-hoon since his idol days, explained, "I came to study history by seeing in person the royal dragon robe and other court garments that Ji-hoon wore in the recently released film 'The King's Warden.'"
Foreign visitors also crowded into the hands-on program area, where they could stamp souvenir cards with seals modeled after Irworobongdo, a bronze dragon, and the Royal Seal. The basement souvenir shop was likewise packed. Visitors picked up a variety of items, including eco-bags, mugs, and magnets decorated with traditional patterns, as well as palace model puzzles. A Chinese couple in their 40s said, "We definitely plan to buy a Gyeongbokgung Palace model assembly kit."
Starting on the 1st of this month, the National Palace Museum of Korea moved its opening and closing times 30 minutes earlier from the previous hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., taking into account foreign tourists who arrive early in the morning to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace and the museum back-to-back. On Saturdays, when night openings are offered, the museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on the last Wednesday of every month it also plans to welcome visitors until 9 p.m.
psh@fnnews.com Park Sung-hyun Reporter