[2025 Audit] 'Era of 5 Million Visitors' at National Museum of Korea, Artifact Acquisition Budget Stagnant for 10 Years

National Museum of Korea's Budget Stagnant for a Decade
Annual Acquisition Budget Remains at 4 Billion KRW
Difficult to Secure Valuable Artifacts Even When They Appear on the Market
"Investment Must Be Strengthened"

The National Museum of Korea has entered the era of 5 million annual visitors, but criticism has arisen that its artifact acquisition budget has remained stagnant for a decade.

Interior view of the National Museum of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to data on the artifact acquisition budget submitted by the National Museum of Korea to Assemblyman Min Hyungbae of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on October 22, the museum's annual "artifact purchase budget" has been about 4 billion won (approximately 4 billion KRW) for the past ten years, from 2015 to 2024.

The acquisition budget has consistently remained in the 3.9 billion won range since 2015. After being set at 3.98 billion won in 2015, it saw a slight increase to 3.987 billion won between 2017 and 2019, but for the past five years since 2020, it has remained at around 3.979 billion won.

Given the realities of the industry, this budget is far from sufficient. Even when national treasures or treasures appear on the auction market, it is realistically difficult for the museum to purchase them. In fact, in 2020, when descendants of Kansong Jeon Hyeongpil (1906-1962) put the treasures "Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha" and "Gilt-bronze Standing Bodhisattva" up for auction, the museum was unable to participate due to the high acquisition price. After the auction failed and the price dropped, the museum was able to acquire both pieces for a little over 3 billion won, an amount equivalent to its entire annual artifact acquisition budget.

In 2022, when Kansong’s descendants put two national treasures-the "Gilt-bronze Triad Buddha with Gyemi Inscription" and the "Gilt-bronze Triad Buddha Shrine"-up for auction, it is reported that the museum did not bid due to cost concerns.

Assemblyman Min Hyungbae's office explained that the situation is similar at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, which deals with high-priced artworks.

According to the disclosed data, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s annual acquisition budget reached 6.107 billion won in 2017 but has steadily declined, remaining at about 4.846 billion won for the four years from 2021 to last year.

The office pointed out, "Considering that the consumer price index has risen by 19.98% over the past ten years, the real purchasing power of museums and art galleries has effectively become 'negative.'"

This situation is also markedly different compared to major museums and art galleries overseas.

According to the office, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States had a total acquisition budget of 229.59 million dollars (about 326.8 billion KRW) from the second half of 2018 to the first half of 2022. This amounts to an annual average of about 81.7 billion KRW, more than 20 times the annual budget of the National Museum of Korea.

The British Museum, which had about 6.48 million visitors last year, also has an annual acquisition budget of around 20 billion KRW, according to the office.

Assemblyman Min Hyungbae stated, "Securing collections and expanding curatorial staff are investments to protect cultural sovereignty," adding, "To achieve the 300 trillion won K-Culture era, we must first strengthen investment in cultural infrastructure."