No. of visitors to royal palaces, tombs hits record-high 14.89M

By Lee Jihae

The number of visitors to the royal palaces and tombs of the Joseon Dynasty this year has set a record high.

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service on Dec. 19 said the figure reached 14.89 million as of late last month.

This was 520,000 higher than 14.37 million last year. This year's figure also included 2.99 million foreign visitors, who accounted for 20% of the total, and was up 49% from 2.01 million over the same period last year.

The center planned and ran 16 popular palace and tomb events including the K-Royal Culture Festival, Korea Heritage Joseon Royal Tombs Festival, Gyeongbokgung Palace Starlight Tour, Moonlight Tour at Changdeokgung Palace, Saenggwabang, referring to a department in charge of making meals and snacks for the king and the queen, at Gyeongbokgung and Seokjojeon Hall at Night. These events attracted 6.89 million people, or 46% of all visitors to the palaces and tombs.

The economic ripple effect of these programs was an estimated KRW 649.5 billion, consisting of KRW 472.1 billion in production output and KRW 177.4 billion in added value. They also created an estimated 3,573 jobs.

Of the 16, the royal culture festival, which is held in spring and fall at Seoul's five palaces -- Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung -- and Jongmyo Shrine attracted the most visitors.

The K-Royal Palaces Pass, which allows unlimited entry into the five palaces during the festival, saw sales this year jump 10-fold from 969 last year to 9,227 this year.

The royal tombs festival featured programs held simultaneously in October like performances, interactive programs and exhibitions at the five royal Joseon tombs of Hongneung, Yureung, Gwangneung, Sareung and Yeongneung (King Sejong the Great's tomb). This year's edition promoted the value of such tombs, which are designated UNESCO World Heritage, and attracted 49,956 visitors, up 21.3% from 41,168 last year.

The reservation system for the most popular programs -- the tours at Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, Saenggwabang and Seokjojeon Hall at Night -- was changed from a first- come, first-served basis to a lottery system handling 40% of all tickets. This greatly reduced visitor inconvenience from the previous method, which often saw fierce competition for admission, and was well received by the public.

jihlee08@korea.kr



Source: https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/FoodTravel/view?articleId=263711&pageIndex=1