690,000 Attend 'Royal Culture Festival'... Foreign Visitors Surge by 81%
A Record-Breaking 1.37 Million Visitors This Year
Over 360,000 Join Online 'Everyone's Custom Map' Program
This fall, Seoul's palaces once again bustled with citizens and tourists.
The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the National Heritage Administration and the National Heritage Promotion Agency announced on the 21st that approximately 690,000 people visited the 'Autumn Royal Culture Festival,' which was held over five days from the 8th to the 12th. Including the 680,000 visitors from the spring festival, the total number of visitors this year reached 1.37 million, setting a new record since the first pilot event in 2014.
In particular, the number of foreign visitors increased significantly. About 290,000 foreign tourists attended, an 81% increase compared to last year’s 160,000. This demonstrates that the global K-culture phenomenon has now extended to Korea's palace culture.
This autumn festival received positive reviews for its experiential programs that catered to all generations. Programs such as 'Deoksugung Junmyeongdang Children's School' and 'Jongmyo Architecture Exploration Team' for children and teenagers, as well as 'Changgyeonggung Donggwol Jangwonseo' for seniors, provided age-appropriate experiences for each generation. The special reservation website for foreigners, which offered programs like 'Gyeongbokgung Hanbok Banquet' and 'Changdeokgung Morning Palace Awakening,' also greatly boosted participation from international visitors.
Special programs commemorating the 30th anniversary of Jongmyo's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site also drew attention. Activities included the 'Jongmyo Architecture Exploration Team' for teenagers, a 'Humanities Concert' featuring historian Choi Taeseong, and 'Adding Ritual Music to Pungnyu,' which blended traditional and modern music, all of which shed new light on Jongmyo's historical significance.
The online participatory program 'Everyone's Custom Map 2025' also gained popularity. In this program, participants create their own characters to complete a single digital tableau. This year, more than 360,000 people took part, setting an all-time record. The completed artwork will be released on the official website, and participation will continue until the 26th.
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The National Heritage Administration and the National Heritage Promotion Agency stated, "This year's Royal Culture Festival offered both domestic and international visitors an experience where tradition and modernity coexist," adding, "We will return next spring with an even more diverse range of programs."
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