With Korea's royal palaces drawing large crowds of domestic and foreign visitors day after day, the government is stepping up its push for orderly sightseeing.
The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service held a "palace visiting etiquette campaign" at Gyeongbokgung Palace on the morning of the 17th, with Administrator Heo Min attending in person. Heo told reporters that day that "the number of domestic and foreign visitors to our palaces and royal tombs reached 17.81 million last year," adding, "We are running a campaign asking people to observe visiting etiquette and to refrain from graffiti and smoking." He also said, "Next week is the Chuseok holiday and admission is free, so we expect visitor numbers to rise further," he said, adding, "We hope those visiting from abroad will take part as well."
Athena and Yewon of the girl group FIFTY FIFTY, who serve as promotional ambassadors, took part in the event along with officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Capital Defense Command, as well as palace guides. They handed out nine-fold promotional fans printed with messages on visiting etiquette, calling on the public to protect cultural heritage and to sightsee safely.
The palace visiting etiquette campaign is running from the 14th through the 18th at Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung palaces. According to the Korea Heritage Service, as the number of palace visitors has risen recently, cases that threaten heritage protection and public order have occurred one after another, including smoking, unauthorized entry into restricted areas, damage to cultural heritage, and verbal abuse and assaults against on-site management staff.
The campaign was designed to spread the idea that palaces are precious national heritage for everyone to enjoy together, and to build a culture in which visitors observe basic etiquette on their own. Last year, 17.81 million domestic and foreign visitors came to the four main palaces including Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon royal tombs and Jongmyo Shrine, up 12.9% from a year earlier. Gyeongbokgung alone drew 6.88 million visitors last year, or an average of about 20,000 a day.
Alongside the campaign, guide banners have been installed at each palace so visitors can easily grasp its message, and on-site safety managers are wearing easily identifiable work vests to help maintain safety and order.
