National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Surpasses 3.37 Million Visitors, Setting All-Time Record Since Opening

15% Increase Compared to Last Year

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) surpassed 3.37 million visitors this year, setting a new all-time record since its opening. The museum announced that, as of December 20, the cumulative number of visitors had exceeded 3.37 million.

Visitors inside the exhibition hall. Courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

This figure represents an increase of approximately 15% compared to the previous year, and a 5.3% rise even compared to 2023, when the Lee Kun-hee Collection Special Exhibition drew significant popularity. In particular, the Seoul and Cheongju branches each recorded their highest-ever visitor counts since opening, with 2.06 million and 270,000 visitors, respectively.

The exhibition that attracted the most visitors this year was the "Ron Mueck" exhibition at the Seoul branch, which drew a total of 533,035 visitors. The average daily attendance reached 5,671, and on the busiest Saturday during the exhibition period, 10,059 people visited in a single day. The permanent exhibition surveying 100 years of Korean art, held at both the Seoul and Gwacheon branches, also drew high interest with a cumulative attendance exceeding 650,000.

By branch, the most popular exhibitions in terms of average daily visitors were: "MMCA Masterpieces from Abroad: Water Lilies and Chandeliers" at the Gwacheon branch (732 visitors per day), the Deoksugung branch's 80th Liberation Anniversary Exhibition "Nostalgia: Painting Hometown" (1,365 visitors per day), and "Watercolor: Painting Water" at the Cheongju branch (326 visitors per day). These exhibitions received enthusiastic responses from a wide age range, from people in their 20s and 30s to the middle-aged and older generations.

In visitor satisfaction surveys, the Gwacheon branch’s permanent exhibition "Korean Modern and Contemporary Art I·II," as well as "MMCA Cheongju Project 2025," "Young Korean Artists 2025," "Tilted Bodies: When Our Vulnerabilities Meet," and "Kim Tschang-Yeul" all received high ratings of over 90 points.

By age group, visitors in their 20s and 30s accounted for the largest share at 63.2% of the total, of which 73% were women. The proportion of middle-aged and older visitors also rose steadily, reaching 29.6%, a 4.2 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Among museum members, the most common places of residence were Goyang in Gyeonggi Province, Gangnam District in Seoul, Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province, Mapo District, and Songpa District. The busiest time slot was between 3 and 4 p.m. on weekends. Last year, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art revamped its app to provide real-time information on exhibition hall congestion levels-categorized as "relaxed," "normal," or "crowded"-and to offer navigation features, thereby improving visitor convenience.

The number of museum members reached approximately 400,000, a 16.1% increase from the previous year. The museum’s social media followers also exceeded 1.52 million, including 310,000 on Instagram.

Foreign visitors totaled 213,249, accounting for 6.3% of the overall attendance. By nationality, the largest groups were from the United States (28.4%), Europe (27.0%), China (17.8%), Japan (9.4%), and Southeast Asia (6.6%), with the range of countries expanding to include Italy, Canada, Turkey, Hong Kong, and others. This trend aligns with the museum’s YouTube channel, which has seen increased overseas access from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.

Director Kim Sunghee stated, "I would like to thank everyone who visited the museum this year," adding, "Next year, we will continue to offer distinctive exhibitions and work with regions beyond the Seoul metropolitan area so that even more people can enjoy culture in their daily lives."