Chairman Kim Kyohong: "Active Support for the National Museum of Korea"
Amid the craze for the Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters," sales of merchandise at the National Museum have surged.
Kim Kyohong, chairman of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, announced on the 24th that "last month, sales of National Museum merchandise reached 5.276 billion won, an increase of about 2.5 times compared to 2.142 billion won in August last year."
Chairman Kim Kyohong emphasized, "With the global K-culture boom, content featuring Korea is attracting worldwide attention, leading to a sell-out frenzy for National Museum merchandise. To accommodate the era of 6.5 million annual visitors to the National Museum of Korea, it is necessary to expand souvenir shops and build a new Children's Museum, as well as improve the overall visitor environment."
Yoo Hongjun, director of the National Museum of Korea (left), and Maggie Kang, director of the Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters," are posing for a commemorative photo after exchanging gifts at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 21st of last month. Photo by Yonhap News
With the worldwide popularity of "K-Pop Demon Hunters," the number of visitors to the National Museum of Korea is on the verge of surpassing an all-time high of 5 million.
As of August this year, a total of 4,328,979 people had visited the National Museum of Korea, marking a 77.5% increase compared to the same period last year. If this trend continues, the total number of visitors to the National Museum of Korea is expected to reach approximately 6.5 million this year.
Chairman Kim Kyohong stated, "If we achieve 6.5 million annual visitors, the National Museum of Korea will rank third in the world for visitor numbers, following the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Vatican Museums. We will actively support the National Museum of Korea so that it can firmly establish itself as one of the world's top three museums."
In last year's global museum visitor rankings, the Louvre Museum in Paris ranked first with 8.74 million visitors. It was followed by the Vatican Museums (6.83 million), the British Museum in London (6.48 million), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (5.73 million), and Tate Modern in London (4.6 million).
Chairman Kim Kyohong emphasized, "National Museum merchandise not only boosts Korean pride but also spreads our traditional culture worldwide. We will replicate this success in the beauty, food, and entertainment industries to usher in the era of 300 trillion won for K-culture."
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