Over 1.4 Million People Visit Palaces and Royal Tombs During Chuseok Holiday

Over 1.4 Million People Visit Palaces and Royal Tombs During Chuseok Holiday: Travel / 연합뉴스 / 2025-10-14 12:15:12

▲ People, including foreign tourists, crowd Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul on Oct. 9, 2025, the last day of the Chuseok holiday. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- More than 1.4 million people visited Seoul’s royal palaces and Joseon Dynasty royal tombs during the Chuseok holiday, which were open to the public free of charge, the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center said Tuesday.

From Oct. 3–9, a total of 1,418,357 people visited Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, and Changgyeonggung palaces, along with the royal tombs and Jongmyo Shrine — an average of 200,000 visitors per day.

Gyeongbokgung drew the largest crowd with 511,349 visitors, accounting for 36.1 percent of the total, followed by Changgyeonggung (216,037), Changdeokgung (209,675), and Deoksugung (176,505).

▲ A foreign visitor enjoys the “Hanbok Banquet” event, part of the 2025 Autumn Royal Culture Festival, at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on Oct. 8, 2025, the sixth day of the Chuseok holiday. (Yonhap)

Royal tombs in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, including Taereung, Gangneung, Seolleung, Jeongneung, Donggureung, and Seooreung, saw 184,708 visitors. Jongmyo attracted 120,083 visitors during the period.

Despite cloudy skies and rain in parts of the country, attendance rose on Oct. 8–9 due to the “Royal Culture Festival” (Oct. 8–12). Gyeongbokgung alone saw daily visitors surge to 126,362 on Oct. 8 and 98,771 on Oct. 9.

Changgyeonggung also welcomed 85,122 visitors on the first day of the festival.

Meanwhile, the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center and the National Heritage Promotion Agency will host an online event, “Everyone’s Genre Painting 2025,” through Oct. 26, where participants can create Joseon-era characters and explore traditional culture digitally.