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Royal palaces, tombs draw record 17.8 million visitors in 2025

Published: 05 Jan. 2026, 12:03 Updated: 05 Jan. 2026, 18:49

People wait in line to enter the Gyeongbok Palace as they visit to celebrate Chuseok holidays on Oct. 8, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

A record 17.8 million people visited royal palaces, tombs and Jongmyo Shrine last year, officials said Monday, as public interest in traditional Korean culture continued to rise.

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service said a total of 17,805,664 people visited these major heritage sites in 2025, up 12.8 percent from 15.78 million the previous year.

The number marks the highest annual tally on record and the first time combined visitors to the four main palaces — Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Changgyeong and Deoksu — as well as Jongmyo Shrine and the royal tombs have surpassed 17 million.

Jongmyo is where the ancestral tablets of the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) are enshrined.

Visitor numbers had plunged to just 6.7 million in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic but have since rebounded, staying above 10 million for four consecutive years. Annual figures reached 14.37 million in 2023, 15.78 million in 2024 and 17.81 million in 2025, each setting a new record, the agency said.

Gyeongbok Palace, the largest of Seoul's royal complexes, drew the biggest crowds, with 6.89 million visitors. The figure accounts for 38.7 percent of admissions to all royal palaces and tombs. It was followed by Changgyeong Palace with 3.56 million, Deoksu Palace with 2.22 million and Changdeok Palace with 1.6 million.

The number of foreign visitors also saw a sharp rise, reaching 4.27 million last year, up 34.4 percent from 2024. Foreign tourists made up nearly a quarter of total visitors.

At Gyeongbok Palace, foreigners accounted for 40.4 percent of all visitors, while at Jongmyo Shrine, the proportion was estimated at 16.8 percent, the agency said.

Yonhap