NMK Surpasses 20 Million Visitors at Yongsan Location

On October 28, 2005, the National Museum of Korea reopened at its current location in Yongsan. Approximately six years and nine months later, on August 7, 2012, the museum surpassed the cumulative total of 20 million visitors at the Yongsan location.

In the first three days after its reopening, the museum welcomed more than 100,000 people, and the visitor total rose to one million in just 44 days. The museum reached 10 million visitors on May 17, 2009, and 15 million on January 4, 2011.

To celebrate this milestone, NMK will award the 20-millionth visitor a Moon Jar (worth KRW 320,000), round-trip air tickets to Jeju Island, as well as museum catalogues.

Furthermore, the five visitors before and after the winner will receive runner-up prizes, including passport notebooks (worth KRW 68,000). Prior to the main ceremony, Director Kim Youngna will also present Lucky Prizes (mother-of-pearl pencil case, etc.) to five visitors to be selected by lottery draw. 

For the last two consecutive years, NMK has ranked ninth in the world in terms of the number of museum visitors (The Art Newspaper 2010-11), with 3.04 million visitors in 2010 and 3.24 million visitors in 2011. Hence, NMK is successfully improving its profile as a prestigious cultural space and a world-class museum.

Notably, the number of foreign visitors has increased each year, demonstrating NMK's status as a "must visit" attraction for people from all around the world. The museum is excelling in its role of promoting Korean history and culture to the world.

In its ongoing efforts to establish itself as a "people-friendly" museum, NMK will further endeavor to become a more welcoming, open space for all, including children, foreigners, and the disabled. To achieve this, we are constantly working towards developing diverse services and creating a more pleasant viewing atmosphere, thereby allowing visitors to have a wonderful time exploring the true Korean culture.