The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) announced that the number of visitors in 2025 surpassed 3.37 million (as of December 20, 2025), marking the highest attendance in the museum’s history since its opening.
 
This figure represents an approximately 15% increase compared to the previous year, and a 5.3% rise even compared to 2023, when the museum enjoyed significant popularity due to the Lee Kun-hee Collection special exhibition. In particular, the MMCA Seoul and the MMCA Cheongju recorded 2.06 million and 270,000 visitors respectively, both achieving their highest attendance figures since opening.
 
The most popular exhibition of the year was 《Ron Mueck》, held at the Seoul Museum, which attracted a total of 533,035 visitors, with a daily average of 5,671. On the busiest Saturday during the exhibition period, as many as 10,059 visitors lined up to view the exhibition, demonstrating its remarkable public response.

This year, the permanent exhibitions at the MMCA Seoul and Gwacheon, which surveyed 100 years of Korean art history exclusively through the museum’s own collection, surpassed a cumulative total of 650,000 visitors, drawing strong emotional responses from audiences toward Korean art holdings.
 
In addition, several exhibitions recorded the highest average daily attendance at each venue: 《Highlights of the MMCA Global Art Collection》 at MMCA Gwacheon (an average of 732 visitors per day), 《A Commemorative Exhibition for the 80th Anniversary of Liberation: Landscapes of Homeland and Longing》 at MMCA Deoksugung (1,365 visitors per day), and 《MMCA Collection: Colors of Water》 at MMCA Cheongju (326 visitors per day). These exhibitions garnered significant interest across a wide age range, from visitors in their 20s and 30s to middle-aged and older audiences.
 
According to visitor satisfaction surveys, exhibitions that scored over 90 points included 《Korean Modern and Contemporary Art I, II》 (MMCA Collection) at MMCA Gwacheon, 《MMCA X CMOA Cheongju Project 2025》, 《Young Korean Artists 2025》, 《Looking After Each Other》, and 《Kim Tschang-Yeul》.

Across all four MMCA venues, the largest proportion of visitors by age group was the 20s–30s generation, accounting for 63.2% of total visitors. Among this group, 73% were women. Middle-aged and older visitors also showed steady growth, reaching 29.6% (a 4.2% increase compared to the previous year). This trend indicates that the growing museum-going culture among younger generations is also encouraging increased engagement from middle-aged audiences.
 
Meanwhile, the number of international visitors reached 213,249, accounting for 6.3% of the total. Visitors came from a wide range of countries, including the United States (28.4%), Europe (27.0%), China (17.8%), Japan (9.4%), and Southeast Asia (6.6%). Compared to the previous year, the range of countries expanded to include Italy, Canada, Turkey, and Hong Kong, suggesting a gradual increase in global interest in K-art and Korean art culture.

References

• 국립현대미술관 보도자료 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) Press Release)