Cultural landmarks see popularity bump as K-culture expands beyond pop exports

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Cultural landmarks see popularity bump as K-culture expands beyond pop exports

Published: 26 Apr. 2026, 07:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Visitors are guided into Seokjojeon Hall, the Western-style building on the grounds of Deoksu Palace, during a night tour. [KOREA HERITAGE AGENCY]

Key historical and cultural landmarks of the Joseon royal family, such as palaces, royal tombs and the Jongmyo Shrine, are becoming popular with Koreans seeking to reconnect with their roots.

“I booked the program as a way to recharge for myself while taking time off between jobs,” said a woman in her 20s while dressed in an elegant hanbok embroidered in gold thread patterns on April 16.

She is among the lucky few who secured a spot in the nighttime tour program of Deoksu Palace's Seokjojeon Hall, where demand for tickets outpaced supply by 137 to 1 this year.

The program features a tour around the palace led by guides dressed as royal guards and court ladies. It also includes an inside tour of Seokjojeon Hall, the western-style building inside the palace grounds, along with a cafe experience on the building’s second-floor terrace, which serves coffee and desserts alongside a classical music performance.

Visitors enjoy refreshments at the second-floor cafe of Seokjojeon, the Western-style building inside Deoksu Palace in Jung District, central Seoul, on April 8. [YONHAP]

A visitor walks through the grounds of Changdeok Palace during a nighttime Moonlight Tour in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 14. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Visitors to palaces, royal tombs and the Jongmyo Shrine hit a record high last year, totaling over 17.8 million people, according to the Korea Heritage Service. About a quarter of them were foreign visitors.

This year, the cumulative number of visitors reached 4,076,352 as of April 19, up 13.1 percent from the same period last year.

Following the surge in numbers, obtaining tickets for seasonal events such as the K-Royal Culture Festival held in the spring and fall, along with select programs at the five major palaces, including Gyeongbok Palace and Changdeok Palace, has become almost as competitive as concerts by popular K-pop groups.

One reason palaces have gained popularity is the expansion of attractions inside their grounds.

At Gyeongbok Palace, restoration and maintenance projects that began in the 1990s have increased the number of buildings from 36 to 148.

Foreign tourists wearing hanbok, or traditional Korean attire, tour Gyeongbok Palace in downtown Seoul on June 13, 2024. [YONHAP]

“With the physical increase in palace buildings, visitor routes have expanded, and the restoration of the sojubang, or royal kitchen, has made it possible to host programs such as Gyeongbok Palace’s saenggwabang program,” said Kim Cheol-yong at the Korea Heritage Service. The saenggwabang refers to the section of the sojubang where sweets, porridge and other delicacies were prepared for the king and queen during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Gyeongbok Palace’s saenggwabang program lets visitors enjoy the same desserts and teas.

In addition to the K-Royal Culture Festival, which began in 2014, tailored programs that reflect the historical significance and unique characteristics of each site — such as the Moonlight Tour of Changdeok Palace — have steadily increased, contributing to rising visitor numbers.

“Palaces may be static spaces, but with additional programming, visitors can feel as if they are experiencing living history,” said Lee Hoon, a professor of tourism at Hanyang University.

This trend also aligns with the rise of the “experience economy” since the late 2010s and particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic. As consumption shifts from goods to experiences, spending that prioritizes emotional satisfaction has become a trend.

Gyeongbok Palace’s saenggwabang program, which offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy sweets and teas that were prepared for the kings and queens during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). [KOREA HERITAGE AGENCY]

The Deoksu Palace’s Seokjojeon Hall night tour program, for example, is subsidized by public funds as part of cultural welfare, allowing participants to experience the upper-class culture of early modern Korea for 35,000 won ($23) per person.

As places rich with stories of kings, rituals, taboos and power, palaces and royal tombs also provide both education and entertainment.

People visit Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol County, Gangwon, a historic site featured in the film ″The King's Warden″ [JOONGANG ILBO]

A representative example is the surge in visitors to Jangneung Royal Tomb — the tomb of King Danjong — in Yeongwol County, Gangwon, among those who developed an interest in the king and Joseon history after watching the film “The King’s Warden,” which drew more than 16.5 million viewers in cinemas after its release on Feb. 4.

The Korea Heritage Service has also been rolling out tailored programs in response to the surge of interest in King Danjong.

Gyeongbok Palace’s saenggwabang will host a royal dessert experience program inspired by the story of King Danjong from Monday to May 3.

The travel program, roughly translated as “Eight Scenic Routes of Royal Tombs,” also includes tours linking the tombs of King Danjong and his wife with the Jongmyo Shrine, where the couple’s memorial tablets are enshrined.

As palaces and royal tombs become trendy spaces, collaborations with various brands are also increasing.

This year’s K-Royal Culture Festival features partnerships not only with beauty and food brands such as cosmetic brand Sulwhasoo, coffee brand Terarosa and food brand Nongshim, but also with online content companies like digital reading platform Millie’s Library.

“As performances by BTS have shown, palaces are expanding from historical assets into hubs of contemporary K-culture,” said Kim Hyeong-woo, the head of the Korean Peninsula Culture and Tourism Institute , adding that such sites "should serve as focal points for tourism by offering more diverse events within a virtuous cycle in which utilization supports preservation."

However, as visitor numbers grow, so do the risks of incidents such as the recent fire in Gyeongbok Palace on March 28.

“There are many requests to expand programs, but we are working within the realistic limits of what can be preserved and managed,” said Ahn Ho, an official at the Korea Heritage Service’s Palace and Tombs Center.

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]]