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Long after APEC, Silla gold crowns still seeing surge of interest in Korea and around the world

Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 12:18 Updated: 12 Feb. 2026, 14:37

Visitors view a Silla-era (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) gold crown from the Hwangnam Daechong tomb during a media preview for the special exhibition “Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige” at the Gyeongju National Museum in North Gyeongsang on Oct. 27, 2025. [NEWS1]

A surge of interest in gold crowns from the Silla Dynasty (57 B. C.–A. D. 935) — fueled in part by a replica presented last year to U.S. President Donald Trump — has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to Gyeongju, the ancient kingdom’s former capital.

Riding that surge of interest, the National Museum of Gyeongju said Wednesday that it will hold a major Silla gold crown exhibition every 10 years, making it a signature event built on expanding research in Korea and abroad into Silla’s golden culture.

The next exhibition will open in 2035 to mark the museum’s 90th anniversary. The museum plans to display six Silla gold crowns alongside crowns from Korea and overseas, broadening the scope beyond the diadem-style crowns, known as daegwan, to examine gold crowns more generally as ceremonial headgear.

The announcement follows strong demand for the current special exhibition, “Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige,” which opened to commemorate the museum’s 80th anniversary and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju.

Artifacts are seen at the special exhibition “Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige” at the Gyeongju National Museum, where six Silla gold crowns and six gold belts are displayed together. [GYEONGJU NATIONAL MUSEUM]

The show brought together six Silla gold crowns and six gold belts for the first time, 104 years after Silla gold crowns were first introduced to the public.

The exhibition opened to general visitors on Nov. 2, 2025, and has drawn an average of 2,561 people per day. As of Monday, cumulative attendance reached 251,052.

Originally scheduled to close on Dec. 14 of last year, the museum extended the run through Feb. 22 as visitors lined up early for tickets. It expects total attendance to approach 300,000 over the 110-day exhibition period.

To manage crowds and protect the artifacts, the museum introduced 30-minute timed entry slots and required online reservations. It also limited daily admissions to 2,550 visitors. Still, tickets have continued to sell out each morning.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Korean President Lee Jae Myung as he receives a gift of a gold crown and an award of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, not seen, during a high honor ceremony at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 29, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

The exhibition will be followed by a series of related displays across the country. Next month, gold ornaments including a crown from the ancient Geumgwanchong tomb will travel to Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, marking their first display there. From September to November, Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang, will host a traveling national treasure exhibition focused on gold crowns.

Overseas exhibitions are also planned. In May, the Musée Guimet (National Museum of Asian Arts) in Paris will open “Silla: Gold and Sacredness” to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and France, highlighting Silla as the first unified state on the Korean Peninsula. In the second half of the year, the Shanghai Museum will present an exhibition on Silla history and culture.

“The National Museum of Gyeongju will continue to actively promote Silla history and culture at home and abroad, using Silla gold crowns as a medium to share the roots of K-culture,” said Yoon Sang-deok, the museum's director.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]