Visitors fill the exhibition hall at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Thursday, as the special exhibition “The Great Admiral Yi Sun-sin surpasses 300,000 visitors. (Yonhap)
Visitors fill the exhibition hall at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Thursday, as the special exhibition “The Great Admiral Yi Sun-sin surpasses 300,000 visitors. (Yonhap)

More than 300,000 people have visited a special exhibition at the National Museum of Korea devoted to the life and legacy of the revered naval commander Yi Sun-sin, the museum said this week -- a record for a show centered on Korean cultural heritage and history.

As of Wednesday, the exhibition, titled “The Great Admiral Yi Sun-sin,” had drawn 305,142 visitors since opening on Nov. 28. Attendance has averaged more than 3,700 people a day, making it the museum’s most successful special exhibition focused on a figure from Korea’s own past.

While Admiral Yi is celebrated as the strategist who defended the Joseon Kingdom during the Japanese invasions of 1592-98, known as the Imjin War, the exhibition looks beyond the martial legend to the man himself. It brings together 369 artifacts, including six National Treasures such as his handwritten wartime diary, the Nanjung Ilgi.

Original national treasures and other cultural properties preserved by Yi’s descendants have been brought together in Seoul for the first time, alongside rare items from collections in Korea and abroad.

Museum merchandise inspired by Admiral Yi Sun-sin (National Museum Goods)
Museum merchandise inspired by Admiral Yi Sun-sin (National Museum Goods)

Public interest surged almost immediately. Within two weeks of its opening, the exhibition had surpassed 50,000 visitors. During the Lunar New Year holiday from Feb. 14 to 18, more than 110,000 people attended despite one closure day. On Feb. 18 alone, 42,161 visitors passed through the galleries.

Museum officials said the response is especially meaningful because it departs from the pattern of previous blockbuster exhibitions, which often featured European master paintings or artifacts from ancient civilizations.

If current trends continue, attendance is expected to surpass 400,000 -- a benchmark previously reached only by hit exhibitions such as “Louvre,” which featured Western landscape paintings from the 16th to the 19th century drawn from the Louvre Museum, and “Egypt, the Great Civilization.”

“The Great Admiral Yi Sun-sin” runs through March 3. The museum will offer free admission on Wednesday, Feb. 25, part of the government-designated monthly Culture Day, and on March 1, a national holiday commemorating Korea’s independence movement.

A postcard featuring an illustrated depiction of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, created as part of a commemorative stamp event at the National Museum of Korea (National Museum of Korea)
A postcard featuring an illustrated depiction of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, created as part of a commemorative stamp event at the National Museum of Korea (National Museum of Korea)

hwangdh@heraldcorp.com