Journalist

Yoon Juhye
  • Korea Creative Content Agency Opens Applications for 2026 Korea Indie Game Dev Camp
    Korea Creative Content Agency Opens Applications for 2026 Korea Indie Game Dev Camp The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency said they will accept applications for the 2026 “Korea Indie Game Dev Camp” from Feb. 23 to March 23. The program will be run on a 6 billion won scale this year, with two tracks: companies and individuals. Projects selected in the final stage will receive development incentive grants of up to 140 million won per project for companies and up to 85 million won per project for individuals. In the first-stage planning track, the organizers plan to support 130 projects: 70 in the company track and 60 in the individual track. The initiative uses a step-by-step competition format: Stage 1 for strong planning, Stage 2 for an early build, Stage 3 for a prototype, and Stage 4 for an enhanced “vertical slice” focusing on core gameplay. Seven companies will participate as partners: Neowiz, Discord, Smilegate, Com2uS Holdings, Krafton, Toss (Viva Republica) and Pearl Abyss. The partners plan to provide stage-by-stage advice, invitations to company events and networking opportunities, support for participation in major exhibitions in and outside South Korea, and investment reviews. The organizers said the public-private effort is intended to help indie developers overcome technical and management constraints and move toward commercialization and global expansion. A “2026 Game Content Production Support” briefing will be held Feb. 24 starting at 2 p.m. in the conference room on the 16th floor of the CKL Corporate Support Center in Gwanghwamun. Details on how to apply and required documents are available in the notice posted on the agency’s website. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 09:48:21
  • South Korea to Give 3,000 Young K-Art Creators 9 Million Won a Year
    South Korea to Give 3,000 Young K-Art Creators 9 Million Won a Year To strengthen the foundations of “K-culture,” South Korea will expand investment in foundational arts.  The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 23rd it will accept applications from March 3 through March 31 for a pilot program, “K-Art Youth Creator Support,” aimed at young artists in foundational arts.  The program will provide annual creation grants of 9 million won to 3,000 creators in foundational arts (age 39 or younger; born on or after Jan. 1, 1986). It will select 1,500 recipients from the Seoul metropolitan area and 1,500 from outside the capital region. The ministry said the grants are intended to help young creators whose low and unstable income makes it difficult to focus on their work. Unless there are special circumstances, those selected this year are expected to receive support again the following year.  Eligible fields include literature, visual arts, performing arts (theater, musical theater, dance, classical and traditional arts), multidisciplinary arts, and convergence and hybrid arts. Popular arts such as pop music and film are excluded.  Applicants can find details in notices posted on the Arts Council Korea website and the websites of 17 provincial and metropolitan cultural foundations. Applications must be submitted through the Arts Council’s National Culture and Arts Support System. Performers may also apply if they have creation credits and submit a creation plan. Regional cultural foundations will first review applicants’ track records and the suitability of their plans. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute will then allocate slots by region and field and select the final 3,000 recipients. Results will be posted on the websites of the 17 regional cultural foundations.  Recipients must carry out their projects based on their submitted plans and file an interim report and a final report that includes the completed work. Grants will be paid in two installments — 4 million won in the first half of the year and 5 million won in the second half. Failure to submit an interim or final report will limit further payments. The pilot program will run from 2026 to 2027. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute will lead an evidence-based performance evaluation (a joint study under the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences) to objectively assess the program’s effects. The evaluation will examine changes in time spent on creative work, increases in creative activity, shifts in income and spending, and how the grants affect young artists’ employment and income. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 09:30:25
  • Arko Art Center Unveils 2026 Lineup of Five Exhibitions Focused on Discovery and Experiment
    Arko Art Center Unveils 2026 Lineup of Five Exhibitions Focused on Discovery and Experiment The Arts Council Korea, known as Arko, announced Arko Art Center’s 2026 exhibition program on the 23rd. The museum will present five exhibitions built around experimentation and diversity. While linking the lineup to Arko support programs, Arko Art Center said it will further develop its identity of “discovery and experimentation,” shaped over more than 50 years. The first show is the homecoming exhibition for the Korean Pavilion at the 19th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition, “Dukkobah Dukkobah: The Time of the House” (2.6~4.5). Marking the pavilion’s 30th anniversary, it examines the building and reconsiders the meaning of a pavilion through the lens of a “house.” The second exhibition, “Uncalibrated Time” (working title, 5.21~7.19), is a two-person show tied to Arko’s Visual Arts Creative Subject Support program. It aims to dismantle hierarchies of time and the senses and to consider attitudes of coexistence. Participants include O Min, selected for multiyear support, and Camille Norment, known for multimedia experimentation on the international stage. Arko said Norment will be introduced at an Asian art museum for the first time through this exhibition. The thematic exhibition “Art School” (working title, 8.7~9.27) looks at the role of Insa Art Space (2000~2025), which has served an educational function in discovering and nurturing emerging artists. Framed as “art as education,” it reflects on education systems and institutions and highlights the activities and practices of art-world participants beyond exhibitions. A “Collection Special Exhibition” (working title, 10.16~11.29) will use Arko Art Center’s holdings to examine the museum’s exhibition history within the context of Korean art history, aiming to provide a meaningful opportunity for research into the history of contemporary Korean art. The final show, “Arko Art Center × Regional Arts Leap Support Collaborative Exhibition” (working title, 12.18~27.2.14), will be linked to Arko’s regional support program. It will back the production of new works by promising regional artists and serve as a platform to broaden the results of discovering and supporting local artists. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 09:18:42
  • Author Kang Ji-young’s Korean-Rooted Characters Drive Global Interest in K-Thrillers
    Author Kang Ji-young’s Korean-Rooted Characters Drive Global Interest in K-Thrillers A woman in her 50s with urinary incontinence is a cold-blooded professional killer. A bald, potbellied shop owner is an arms dealer. A seemingly ordinary college student is suddenly swept into a war among assassins. In Kang Ji-young’s thrillers, characters look familiar but rarely turn out to be what they seem. The same goes for settings: a neighborhood supermarket or butcher shop can be more than it appears. Kang’s novel “Mrs. Shim Is a Killer,” credited with helping open the door for “K-thrillers,” is set to be published in more than 20 countries in the first half of this year. In a recent interview at Seoul Chaekbogo in Jamsil, Kang said the overseas attention is “because the characters are Korean,” adding that “there also seems to be a culture forming worldwide that ‘Korean things are hip.’” The upcoming U.S. and U.K. editions highlight Korean elements, including an image of metal chopsticks and bilingual English-and-Korean text for the title and author name. Kang will begin a book tour March 28, starting in Paris and continuing to Lyon, Poland and Hungary. She called the results “very joyful,” but said she also feels “a sense of responsibility.” “I’m excited, but I’m worried, too. I was lucky to export one work, but my work can’t end up blocking the path for other writers,” she said. Kang works across genre fiction and literary fiction, as well as webtoons and web novels. Disney+ released the 2024 drama “A Shop for Killers,” based on her work “A Shop for a Killer,” starring Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun. After the success of Season 1, Season 2 will be released within the year. Her books are known for quickly drawing interest in adaptation rights. Readers cite vivid descriptions that make scenes easy to picture, along with black humor that can prompt a laugh even amid sharp violence. Kang said she does not plan stories with screen adaptations in mind. She attributes the strength of a “super IP” to everyday life. She writes on a strict schedule, sitting at her desk at 9 a.m. and ending manuscript work at 5:30 p.m. “There was a time when it was hard to survive if I didn’t write diligently,” she said. “I have a child. A kid can’t grow on dreams alone,” she said. “I worked hard. Until my late 30s, I held a job while writing novels. Writing becomes meals, academy tuition, and school lunch money. That process itself was a period of growth. I feel not only accomplishment but a lot of pride. I didn’t choose writing as a high-end hobby.” Twists on familiar people Kang’s characters often begin with people around her. “The female lead in ‘Gama-goe on a Giraffe’ borrows some of my younger sister,” she said. “Jeong Jin-man in ‘A Shop for a Killer’ is a stand-in for my father, and Shim Eun-on in ‘Mrs. Shim Is a Killer’ draws partly from my aunt. After losing her husband, she raised her siblings while running a butcher shop. I took the basic setup from that. That’s why readers can find pieces of ‘our mom’ or ‘my sibling’ in my work.” Then comes the reversal: the middle-aged woman becomes a knife-wielding assassin, and the potbellied man a major figure in arms trafficking. Kang also often portrays women in their 20s and 30s as resilient people who “keep walking forward to find a way out.” Early in her career, she said, most of her short-story protagonists were men and women were often reduced to victims of violence. “As I started writing novels, I thought, ‘As a woman, I should make women into active characters,’” she said. “That’s why many of my novel protagonists are young women just stepping into the world.” That approach also shapes the three-part “A Shop for a Killer,” which reads like a coming-of-age story as protagonist Jeong Ji-an collides with the world and grows tougher. “Even without landing a full-time job, I wanted to portray a woman who faces the world in her own way — not a beginner anymore, but an independent person,” Kang said. Kang linked that to her own 20s. Raised in Paju, she said she had to become independent after entering a university in Seoul. “Back then I worked part-time jobs relentlessly. I started working and earning money at 21,” she said. “It felt like the world was picking on me for no reason. At some point, my family felt unfamiliar. I started devoting myself to family after I had a child. That’s when I moved from being Jeong Ji-an, the niece, to Jeong Jin-man, the uncle.” Dangerously convincing lies Many characters die in Kang’s novels, yet the stories can feel oddly cathartic. “Doesn’t everyone have at least one person they want to kill?” she said. “Doesn’t everyone think at least once, ‘I want to kill them cleanly’ or ‘I want to get rid of them’?” she said. “I’m just carrying out, in a story, what’s hard to do in real life.” She said the same logic applies to suffocating relationships. In “Gama-goe on a Giraffe,” the protagonist cuts off family ties. “I wanted to tell readers, ‘If it’s harmful, you can cut it off,’” she said. “You have to find your own path to happiness. For people who can’t bring themselves to do it, I want to give them at least some vicarious satisfaction.” Kang recently finished the novella “Dokni.” Its protagonist is described as a composite of South Korean female serial killers including Go Yoo-jung, Lee Eun-hye, Eom In-sook and Kim Seon-ja. “There are many cases of killing someone they loved with poison, so I titled it ‘Dokni,’” she said. Through a woman in her 70s who is released on parole after 29 years and one month, Kang said she examines, from a skeptical perspective, “whether humans can truly be rehabilitated.” A separate work centered on a traditional Catholic exorcism rite is set to be published around summer. Kang said writing it was so difficult that she suffered sleep paralysis throughout the process. Often labeled a “young writer” or a “storyteller,” Kang, who is approaching 50, said she no longer cares about such descriptions. “I sometimes describe my job as ‘someone who cleverly lies without getting caught,’” she said. “I keep making lies that feel real, on a razor-thin boundary. I don’t care what I’m called. It’s enough if readers fall for the world I created.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 00:03:28
  • New Books: A Child Therapist on Healing, a Monk Talks Buddhism With ChatGPT, and a Debut Poetry Collection
    New Books: A Child Therapist on Healing, a Monk Talks Buddhism With ChatGPT, and a Debut Poetry Collection What Heals Young People’s Wounds?=By Stacey Schaefer, translated by Moon Garam, Dusiui Namu. The author, a child and adolescent psychotherapist with 20 years of experience, distills lessons from her work with young clients. Her core rule is simple: when a child finally opens up, adults should not lead with their own stories — the “I went through that, too” approach. She writes that today’s problems can be different and more complicated: being left on “read” by a friend can feel like a crisis, targeted exclusion can play out on social media, and threats from strangers are not uncommon. If adults do not understand kids’ culture, she urges them to replace judgment with an open question such as, “Will you help me understand?” When adults become safe enough for children to ask for help, she argues, kids can share thoughts and feelings without fear of being judged. "Social media influencers exploit this, constantly sending subtle messages: ‘I know you. I understand you. If you buy this, you’ll be like us.’ Surprisingly, kids fall for it. No one wants to live without a sense of presence in the world. Kids especially want to belong somewhere. The more we tell them, ‘I know the real you,’ the less likely they are to define themselves through other people’s eyes." (pp. 252-253) Sakyamuni Smiles=By Jeonggyeong, Jihyeui Namu. Jeonggyeong, a Buddhist monk, uses conversations with the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to pose a question to readers: “Is what I have believed until now really what Sakyamuni taught?” The exchange began after he was intrigued by ChatGPT’s ability to discuss Buddhism and opened an account, continuing the dialogue for several days. In a question-and-answer format, the book suggests that much of what people today call “Buddhism” reflects interpretations and devotional practices added after Sakyamuni, rather than his original teachings. When the monk asks a question, ChatGPT offers answers based on various sources; he then presses for evidence or points out errors, narrowing the issues. Readers are invited to revisit Sakyamuni’s teachings through the back-and-forth between the monk and the AI. “This foreword could be written because Venerable Jeonggyeong presented to me — in the form of questions — a lifetime of thought, doubt, practice, criticism, verification and rigorous reflection. I merely shed light on those questions. Therefore, if I am credited in the foreword, it should state: ‘This foreword was formed from a conversation between Venerable Jeonggyeong and ChatGPT,’ and ‘The author is human, and AI assisted with language alignment.’ This text is thus a trace of thinking done together by Venerable Jeonggyeong and the AI ChatGPT, and it makes clear that the origin of all thought lies with the human who asked the questions.” (p. 14, from “ChatGPT’s Foreword”) Take a Small Bite and Secretly Throw It Away=By Yeon Jeongmo, Achimdal. This is poet Yeon Jeongmo’s first collection. Yeon began publishing after winning the inaugural newcomer award in the poetry category from the biannual “Munhak Suchup.” At the time, judges said Yeon freely varied imagination and imagery within poetic space, “leaping and playing as if dancing,” and pushed poetic thinking to the end in a language uniquely their own. The new collection seeks a distinctive aesthetic distance on the taut line between the self and the world, and addresses birth and death in a style described as bright yet firmly grounded. Wipe clean even the burst fruit flesh/ gather it all together/ a cast-iron pot that was once Grandma’s treasure/ she used to put me and my sibling inside it/ and wash us together — it remains as one close-knit page of history (from “Jampot,” p. 50) * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-21 06:06:27
  • National Museum of Korea Draws 86,464 Visitors Over Lunar New Year Holiday
    National Museum of Korea Draws 86,464 Visitors Over Lunar New Year Holiday The National Museum of Korea is increasingly becoming a popular holiday destination. The museum said on the 20th that 86,464 people visited during the Lunar New Year holiday period from Feb. 16 to 18, with the museum closed on the 17th. Holiday attendance has climbed sharply: 32,193 in 2024, 50,512 in 2025 and more than 80,000 this year, up 71.2% from last year. The museum credited strong interest in its special exhibitions, “Our Yi Sun-sin” and “From Impressionism to Early Modernism,” as well as a display of all 22 volumes of the “Daedongyeojido” map unfolded along the “Path of History” on the first floor of the permanent galleries. Director Yu Hong-jun said, “Despite the cold weather, I want to express my gratitude to visitors who came to the museum during the Lunar New Year holiday.” He added, “We will continue to raise the quality of our exhibitions and steadily improve the viewing environment so visitors can encounter our cultural heritage from new perspectives.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-20 15:00:17
  • Korea flags alleged wasteful spending at music performers group, including contracts tied to executive’s relatives
    Korea flags alleged wasteful spending at music performers group, including contracts tied to executive’s relatives The Korea Music Performers Association, known as KOSCAP, is facing scrutiny after allegations that it spent its budget loosely, including signing private contracts centered on companies run by relatives of an executive. South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 20th that a 2025 inspection of KOSCAP and the Korea Society of Copyrights for Literary Works and Art found numerous shortcomings in compensation distribution and organizational operations. The ministry said it selected three organizations through a public call to serve as copyright compensation recipients: the literary and arts copyright society, KOSCAP and the Korea Music Content Association. After reviewing their operations, it found multiple issues requiring correction, imposed corrective conditions and ordered the groups to undergo another review through a new call for applications in two years. At KOSCAP, the ministry said it found many cases of improper spending and weak governance. Executive A, it said, recommended a company led by a sixth-degree relative for 2025 holiday gift purchases, and KOSCAP then signed a 22.77 million won private contract with that firm. The amount exceeded KOSCAP’s internal limit for private contracts by 770,000 won. KOSCAP also signed an 11.3 million won contract with a travel agency where the same relative of Executive A worked while planning a 2025 staff workshop, the ministry said. The ministry said KOSCAP spent 329 million won on vacation pay in 2025, averaging about 10 million won per person. KOSCAP’s vacation-pay rate has steadily increased, rising from 120% of base salary in 2013 to 210% in 2024. It also created four new allowances in 2025 without reporting them to the general assembly or board, including children’s tuition (2 million to 3 million won a year), meal allowance (100,000 won a month), communications allowance (50,000 won a month) and a youth housing stability allowance (100,000 won a month). About 96.25 million won was paid to executives and staff under those categories over the past year. The ministry also said that while rules limit individual corporate cards to executives, KOSCAP appointed non-standing adviser B in October and signed a contract providing a monthly adviser fee of 5.7 million won, a corporate card with a 1 million won monthly cap for business expenses, and coverage under the four major social insurance programs. B charged 1,041,400 won in October alone, exceeding the limit, and the ministry cited cases of split transactions at the same location late at night. Other findings included an unauthorized expansion of a prefabricated panel space on a KOSCAP-owned building and a renovation contract signed for about 25 million won more than the publicly announced amount, the ministry said. At the literary and arts copyright society, the ministry said it found cases of overcollection involving works whose protection period had expired (five cases, including authors Sim Hun and Kim Yeongrang, totaling 630,000 won) and cases in which authors were misclassified and did not receive compensation for 10 years despite being members (two cases, totaling 240,000 won). The ministry said it issued corrective orders to KOSCAP and the literary and arts copyright society, including demands for disciplinary action against responsible officials, corrections to improper spending and steps to prevent recurrence. As conditions for designation as compensation recipient organizations, it also required measures to curb wasteful management, establish conflict-of-interest prevention plans, lower management fee rates and reduce undistributed compensation funds. 2026-02-20 08:57:23
  • K-Pop Boosts Hanbok’s Global Profile, but Experts Say Daily Wear Is the Next Test
    K-Pop Boosts Hanbok’s Global Profile, but Experts Say Daily Wear Is the Next Test As K-pop artists including BTS raise the hanbok’s profile on the global stage, calls are growing to find ways to root the traditional Korean outfit in everyday life. Industry officials said Feb. 20 that with BTS’ full-group return nearing, attention is on whether K-pop’s global reach can translate into new momentum for the hanbok industry. BTS has frequently used hanbok-inspired looks onstage, helping recast the garment as a modern, trend-forward style. The group drew worldwide attention on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” performing with Gyeongbokgung Palace and Geunjeongjeon Hall as a backdrop while wearing stage outfits that reinterpreted hanbok elements. For “IDOL,” BTS wore costumes based on hanbok, updated with modern takes on traditional patterns and colors. Member Suga also sparked buzz by wearing a gonryongpo in the music video for his solo track “Daechwita.” BTS has also introduced hanbok as “Korean culture” in interviews with major overseas media outlets. Hanbok is also taking on a role as a symbol of K-culture in diplomacy. Ahead of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to South Korea, first lady Rosangela da Silva posted photos on social media wearing a hanbok gifted by the local Korean community. “At this moment, ahead of an official visit to South Korea, I had the honor of receiving a hanbok as a gift,” she wrote, describing it as “a traditional Korean outfit mainly worn for festivals, weddings, holidays and cultural events.” Kim Hye-kyung, recently named an “honorary hanbok ambassador,” has worn hanbok while accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on overseas trips, officials said. At a recent hanbok New Year gathering, she said, “Hanbok is a precious cultural heritage that represents Korea and a core asset of K-culture,” adding, “I will devote myself even more to promoting the beauty of hanbok.” Experts say the next step is making hanbok part of daily life, moving beyond the idea that it is only formal wear. Many argue it should be used across a wider range of content, including K-pop, games and virtual reality. Kim So-hyun, a professor in the Department of Hanbok Culture Contents at Baewha Women’s University, said content is needed so people can experience hanbok in virtual spaces as well. She pointed to examples of companies such as Louis Vuitton offering brand experiences to younger users in virtual platforms like Zepeto and generating revenue through item sales. “Hanbok is changing into cultural content people enjoy as play by combining it with films, dramas, webtoons and games,” she said. “The space for hanbok in everyday life is expanding into virtual worlds such as the metaverse.” Kwon Hye-jin, CEO of hanbok studio Hyeon and an adjunct professor at Ewha Womans University, said idol stars bowing to fans around the world are helping spread awareness of hanbok. She called for strategies to increase hanbok exposure through K-content, including collaborations with Korean Wave stars. She also proposed hanbok festivals that friends, couples and families can enjoy together, similar to Brazil’s Carnival or Japan’s matsuri. 2026-02-20 08:03:00
  • Business and Investing Books Lead Yes24 Bestsellers as KOSPI Rally Continues
    Business and Investing Books Lead Yes24 Bestsellers as KOSPI Rally Continues As the KOSPI surged past the 5,600 mark, business and economics titles continued to dominate bestseller lists. According to Yes24’s overall bestseller rankings for the third week of February, professor Lee Gwang-su’s “Stock Investing for Progressives” ranked No. 1. The comic “The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 18 (Double Special Edition),” which began preorders last week, placed No. 2. Cho Hyun-sun’s new novel “My Perfect Funeral,” published in January, was No. 3. The 2025 Akutagawa Prize winner “Goethe Said Everything” ranked No. 4, and “Sakamoto Days 25 (Double Special Edition)” was No. 5. Interest in investing stayed strong through the Lunar New Year holiday. Five business and economics books made the overall top 10, extending a trend seen since the start of the year. Sales of “Stock Investing for Progressives” rose 46.4% from the previous week during Feb. 12-18, the holiday period. “KOSPI 10,000: Next Level,” which reached No. 7 after preorders began, drew a majority of purchases from readers in their 50s, at 51.1%. The No. 8 title, “Create 3 Million Won in Monthly Dividends Within Three Years With 10 Million Won,” had a 40.1% purchase share among readers in their 40s. “Park Gomhui’s Pension Wealth Class” (No. 9) and “The Equation of Money” (No. 10) also made the top 10. Comics also saw a surge among younger readers. “The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 18 (Double Special Edition)” climbed to No. 2 in seven days after preorders opened on Feb. 12, with purchases led by men in their teens (31.1%) and 20s (25.3%). “Sakamoto Days 25 (Double Special Edition)” entered the overall top five in six days after preorders began Feb. 13; women in their 20s accounted for 28.7% of purchases. Long-form fiction maintained steady popularity. Along with “My Perfect Funeral” (No. 3) and “Goethe Said Everything” (No. 4), “Grapefruit Apricot Club” (No. 15), “Contradiction” (No. 17) and “I Said Goodbye” (No. 20) all ranked in the overall top 20. Sales of “My Perfect Funeral” rose 24.4% from the previous week during the holiday period. Women accounted for 73.3% of buyers, including women in their 30s (17.1%) and 40s (28.6%). * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 15:12:00
  • South Korea Surveys Public on Raising Palace and Royal Tomb Admission Fees
    South Korea Surveys Public on Raising Palace and Royal Tomb Admission Fees The government is moving to review raising admission fees for royal palaces and tombs, which have been frozen for 20 years. Before deciding whether to raise prices and by how much, it is seeking public input to reduce potential controversy. The Korea Heritage Service said Thursday it is conducting a public survey titled “Public Perception Survey on Realizing Palace and Royal Tomb Admission Fees.” The survey is being run through the Sotong24 website and closes Friday. The survey has six questions, including what respondents consider an appropriate fee level, whether they would still visit if prices rise, and views on the current system that applies the same admission fee to Koreans and foreigners. It also asks whether to keep a differentiated pricing system or adopt a single-fee structure. The questionnaire lays out specific price ranges. For Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, which currently charge 3,000 won, it asks respondents to choose among: 3,000 won (no change); more than 3,000 won to less than 5,000 won; 5,000 won to less than 8,000 won; 8,000 won to less than 10,000 won; or 10,000 won or more. For Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung, Jongmyo Shrine and the Joseon royal tombs, which currently charge 1,000 won, the ranges are: 1,000 won (no change); more than 1,000 won to less than 3,000 won; 3,000 won to less than 5,000 won; 5,000 won to less than 8,000 won; or 8,000 won or more. The survey follows a view that current fees do not reflect inflation and rising maintenance costs. Admission is 3,000 won for Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung; 1,000 won each for Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung, Jongmyo and the Joseon royal tombs; and 500 won for Sejong relic sites. By comparison, Buckingham Palace charges 65.7 pounds (about 120,000 won) and the Palace of Versailles charges 25 to 35 euros (about 43,000 to 60,000 won). Calls to raise fees have circulated inside and outside the government. President Lee Jae-myung, in a December briefing on the Korea Heritage Service’s 2026 work plan, noted that taxpayer money is used to manage the sites and said, “It is not substantively fair for a small number of visitors to enjoy the benefits.” While repeatedly stressing the need to adjust fees, he added, “If you just (raise them), people feel upset and disappointed, so it needs to be adjusted after good explanations and a process of persuasion.” Based on the survey results, the government is expected to gauge social consensus on the need for changes and an appropriate level, then draft specific improvements. A recent study suggests some support for fees near 10,000 won. According to public hearing materials for a policy study titled “Policy Research on Measures to Realize Service Admission Fees for Palaces and Tombs,” published by the Korea Heritage Service’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center and the CST-affiliated Cultural Administration Research Institute, a survey of 2,341 visitors found respondents said they could pay an average of 9,730 won for palaces and Jongmyo Shrine and 8,458 won for the Joseon royal tombs. Separately, as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has raised admission for some special exhibitions by 60%, the National Museum of Korea — facing a surge in visitors — is also reviewing charging for its permanent exhibition. The museum is developing online reservation and ticketing, on-site ticketing, contactless electronic ticket checks, and mobile tickets using QR codes.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 14:21:27