The cultural impact of BTS is once again extending far beyond music—and this time, it’s showing up in historic landmarks.
A day after BTS held their comeback performance at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21, a total of 33,005 visitors—both local and international—visited Gyeongbokgung Palace.
That’s more than 10,000 additional visitors compared to the same date last year, when 21,236 people toured the palace.
Heo Min, Administrator of the Korea Heritage Administration, addressed the surge during a press conference for the 2026 Royal Culture Festival held at Korea House in central Seoul.
“Before the concert, we were seeing around 20,000 visitors,” he said. “By March 29, that number had climbed to approximately 53,000. Since BTS’s Gwanghwamun performance, we’ve been able to clearly feel a growing interest in Korea’s palaces and traditional culture.”
Data from the agency’s Palace and Royal Tombs Center supports the trend, showing a year-over-year increase of 10,769 visitors on March 22 alone.
The administration now plans to build on that momentum. Sites such as Gyeongbokgung, Gwanghwamun, and the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty are being positioned not just as preserved heritage spaces, but as globally recognized cultural destinations.
Upcoming programming reflects that shift. The Jongmyo Jerye royal ancestral ritual, scheduled for May 3, will be broadcast live both on a large outdoor screen at Gyeongbokgung’s Heungnyemun Square and via the agency’s official YouTube channel. A nighttime performance of Jongmyo Jeryeak is also set to take place later this month at Jongmyo Shrine.
Further initiatives will open nine forested pathways across Joseon royal tomb sites—including the burial grounds of Queen Jeongsun in Namyangju—to the public from May 16 through June 30.
Meanwhile, the National Palace Museum of Korea plans to launch a new outdoor ginkgo tree rest area in October, designed as a ceremonial-style venue that brings royal heritage closer to everyday public life.
Taken together, the numbers—and the response—offer a clear signal: BTS’s influence continues to translate into real-world cultural engagement, driving both tourism and renewed interest in Korea’s historical identity.
