2.78 million foreign visitors to Gyeongbokgung Palace last year, up 37.3% year on year

[Financial News] More than 2.78 million foreign visitors visited Gyeongbokgung Palace last year, a 37.34% increase from the previous year. The total number of visitors to Seoul's four major palaces—Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace Complex, Deoksugung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace—also came close to 14.27 million.
According to data obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sun-mee, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korea Heritage Service on the 25th, Gyeongbokgung Palace recorded 6,886,650 visitors last year, up 6.88% from 6,443,600 in 2024.
Of that total, 2,783,998 were foreign visitors, up 37.34% from 2,027,087 the previous year. The number of domestic visitors stood at 4,102,652.
Deoksugung Palace recorded 3,561,882 visitors, a 5% increase from the previous year. Foreign visitors totaled 378,069, up 1%.
Changdeokgung Palace Complex drew 2,219,247 visitors, while Changgyeonggung Palace received 1,602,202. Foreign visitors accounted for 665,893 and 269,970, respectively.
The total number of visitors to the four major palaces rose steadily each year: 3,835,096 in 2021, 8,050,034 in 2022, 11,402,889 in 2023, 12,722,348 in 2024 and 14,269,981 in 2025.
Foreign visitor numbers also continued to rise, from 59,125 in 2021 to 501,296 in 2022, 1,919,188 in 2023, 3,065,856 in 2024 and 4,097,930 last year.
Visitor numbers also increased at major tourist destinations outside the palaces. According to MCST's "2025 Statistics on Visitors to Major Tourist Attractions," the National Museum of Korea recorded 6,507,483 visitors, up 68.33% from the previous year. The Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) recorded 5,940,398 visitors, an increase of 1.54%.
Suncheonman National Garden and Suncheonman Bay recorded 4,795,907 visitors, up 11.46%, while Kangwon Land Casino recorded 2,478,658, an increase of 4.4%.
Jin said, "As the global craze for K-pop and K-culture extends to growing interest in Korea's traditional national heritage, strolling through palaces and visiting museums are becoming cultural activities enjoyed by both Koreans and foreign visitors."
She added, "In line with this interest and demand for visits, policy support and management efforts are needed so that national heritage and national cultural infrastructure can grow into world-class attractions."

[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter