In May 2023, the Cultural Heritage Administration, now the Korea Heritage Service, signed an agreement with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism to abolish the heritage admission fees collected at major temples across the country. Temples had charged several thousand won per person, citing the cost of preserving cultural heritage, and hikers criticized the practice as a toll. The government now covers the cost of waiving those fees with state funds. The Korea Heritage Service allocated 58.2 billion won to this heritage access support program this year, and the amount is expected to rise next year.
Choi Eung-chun, then head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, defended the policy at a press briefing when asked whether free admission would strain public finances. "Rather than seeing it as compensating temples for lost admission revenue, I would suggest interpreting it as support for the costs borne by temples that own and manage cultural properties," he said. "As visitor numbers grow, we expect it to boost local commerce."
The abolition of temple fees was emblematic of a broader trend: until recently, admission charges at public facilities were gradually disappearing, making it easier for the general public to enjoy cultural institutions. The National Museum of Korea, which falls under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with national and municipal museums and art galleries in the provinces, became free in 2008. Admission to the National Museum of Korea had been 2,000 won just before the switch. Most cultural facilities run by local governments are also free today.
Where charges were unavoidable, they were kept as low as possible. That is why admission to Gyeongbokgung Palace and other royal palaces managed by the Korea Heritage Service has been fixed at just 3,000 won since 2005.
Now, after 20 years, that trend is being sharply reversed. The reasons are layered. Visitor numbers have surged, driving up facility management costs. Attendance at the National Museum of Korea alone nearly doubled in six years, from 3.35 million in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, to 6.5 million last year. There are also calls for higher revenue. The cost of free admission is covered by taxes, and resentment has grown among those who do not visit but still bear the burden. With foreign tourist numbers rising, the gap between Korean fees and the far higher charges at public cultural facilities abroad has also drawn attention.
The turning point came from the National Museum of Korea. Yoo Hong-june, who took over as director general in July last year, argued for charging admission at national and public museums. At a press briefing at the time, he noted that he had raised the Gyeongbokgung admission fee from 1,000 won to 3,000 won in 2005, when he headed the Cultural Heritage Administration. "Once we charged more for palace admission, policies such as free entry for visitors in hanbok became possible, and visitors' attitudes changed as well," he said. "The National Museum of Korea should start charging admission." Speculation quickly followed that museum admission would soon reach around 10,000 won. The plan is to assess the situation this year and pursue an increase next year.
Separately, the Korea Heritage Service signaled a fee increase for palaces and royal tombs. It argued that a steep increase was unavoidable given inflation since 2005, when the Gyeongbokgung fee was frozen at 3,000 won. The agency even laid out a timetable: a decision in November and implementation early next year.
On the 8th, the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service hosted a public forum on palace and tomb admission fees at the annex auditorium of the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul's Jongno district. The presenter, citing a survey of some 6,000 members of the public, proposed 9,203 won as an appropriate admission fee for Gyeongbokgung. That is three times the current 3,000 won. The reasons offered included that Korea's cultural heritage is undervalued, that facility management is costly, and that Korea charges less than other countries do for their palaces.
According to the Korea Heritage Service, managing the palaces, royal tombs and gardens required 126.4 billion won in the 2025 budget. Admission revenue, however, came to only 12.7 billion won, covering just 10% of the money spent. The agency says a proper ratio would be 20% to 30%, and that is the basis for tripling the fee. It aligns curiously well with the 9,000 won figure that emerged from the forum's survey.
Fee increases at the National Museum of Korea and Gyeongbokgung will clearly spread to related facilities nationwide. Whether things unfold as the culture ministry and the Korea Heritage Service hope is another question. With President Lee Jae-myung's approval ratings on a broad downward trend, a steep fee increase that would feed inflation looks difficult to pull off, all the more so when the plan is to jump straight to 10,000 won.
Unfortunately, local communities are missing from the government's recent deliberations. That is the point behind former administrator Choi's remark, made when he argued for abolishing temple fees and replacing them with state support, that more visitors could invigorate local commerce. Few would dispute that the bustle in central Seoul lately owes something to the crowds drawn to Gyeongbokgung, the other palaces and the museums. The money saved on low admission fees is being spent at nearby shops. The National Museum of Korea sits in a somewhat out-of-the-way part of Yongsan, which may work against it, but the district stands to benefit as Yongsan development proceeds.
Statistics show that visitor numbers to the surrounding communities rose sharply after temple fees were actually waived in 2023. Free entry prompts one more visit, and that translates into local spending. For a proper analysis, the government should examine how visitor numbers and visitor profiles would change under higher fees, and above all what effect that would have on local communities. The shock will clearly be greater outside Seoul than in the capital. Apart from the National Museum of Korea and a handful of regional national museums, most national and public museums still struggle to draw visitors.
At the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center forum on the 8th, the expert panel and the citizen discussion group mostly favored raising fees, saying they would pay more as visitors. Cho Kyu-hyung, head of the center, offered a caveat in his closing remarks. "People say 'just raise it,' but when it comes to paying out of their own pocket to get in, some also say, 'Why is this so expensive?'" he said.
[From Choi Soo-moon's Cultural Capital] This column examines cultural phenomena unfolding in Korea, a global cultural capital, and explores what it will take to become one in the truest sense.
