The lucky 20-millionth visitor turned out to be Eom Ji-yeon (born 1973, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do) during a visit to the museum with her children. Ms. Eom said, “This is the third time I’ve visited NMK, and I’m so happy and lucky to have received this prize. I haven’t taken my vacation yet, and with these airline tickets, I can travel to Jeju Island together with my family.”

In addition to the two round-trip tickets to Jeju Island (from Korean Air), Director Kim Youngna presented Ms. Eom with a moon jar and several museum catalogues. Runner-up prizes were presented to the five visitors before and after the 20- millionth visitor, who included Japanese and Korean students residing in the USA. Meanwhile, lucky prizes were presented to five visitors selected by lottery draw.

Notably, 20 million visitors is equivalent to about half of the population of South Korea. Also, more than one million people have participated in the museum’s educational and cultural programs. The 20 million visits to the museum were achieved less than seven years after the museum’s relocation to Yongsan, representing a significant milestone in the country’s 100+ year history of Korean museums. NMK’s new building and location in Yongsan has raised its global profile as a prestigious cultural space, conveying an important message about the country’s cultural policy.

For reference, since 2007, the number of visitors to the museum has increased at an average annual rate of 9.4%. Also, the number of foreign visitors has increased by 10.1% per year, and the number of children visitors by 13.1%, reflecting the museum’s increasing popularity with people from all walks of life.

Furthermore, since reopening, NMK has endeavored to meet the burgeoning cultural needs of Korean nationals, by producing considerable research results and presenting 116 exhibitions of cultural excellence (eight world civilization exhibitions, 32 special exhibitions, and 76 themed exhibitions). In addition, the museum has actively developed numerous educational programs, attracting around 770,000 participants, and has held 380 performance events, such as music festivals and diverse seasonal events (e.g., for Chuseok, New Year’s Day, etc.), attracting 260,000 participants.