[2025 Audit] National Museum of Korea Surpasses 5 Million Visitors... Only 3.7% Are Foreigners

Chung Yeonwook: “Gap with the K-Tourism 30 Million Era”
Insufficient Multilingual Services and Facilities

Yonhap News Agency

The National Museum of Korea has surpassed 5 million visitors this year. While the museum has even issued a press release claiming it has reached the level of the world’s top five museums, the proportion of foreign visitors remains below 4%. Critics point out that this falls short of the government’s goal of attracting 30 million tourists under the “K-Tourism 30 Million Era” initiative.

According to data from the National Museum of Korea released on October 22 by Assemblyman Chung Yeonwook of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the cumulative number of visitors as of October 20 stood at 5,103,709. Of these, only 190,052 were foreigners, accounting for just 3.7% of the total. When the scope is expanded to include all 14 affiliated national museums across the country (with approximately 11.29 million visitors), the proportion drops further to 2.7%.

Assemblyman Chung stated, “The achievement itself is meaningful, but the fact that 96% of visitors are domestic is disappointing in terms of international competitiveness. If the government aims to attract 30 million tourists, it must first create a foreigner-friendly environment at the nation’s flagship museum.”

In reality, the environment for foreign visitors remains inadequate. While audio guides are available in English, Chinese, and Japanese, both their usage rates and language diversity are limited. Online reservation and information systems are also primarily designed for domestic visitors.

Assemblyman Chung emphasized, “The National Museum of Korea is the first place where people from around the world encounter Korean history and culture. Only by improving conditions for foreign visitors can it truly become a ‘top five museum’ on the global stage.”