National Museum's 'Costume Play' event expands nationwide

The National Museum of Korea's popular "Costume Play" event, where citizens interpret and embody museum artifacts through costume and performance, is expanding from a single location to a nationwide festival this year. The museum announced on June 9 that it is seeking participants until July 31 for the expanded cultural event.

Last year's inaugural event garnered significant attention, particularly among younger generations, and saw its entries widely shared on social media. This year, the museum has produced promotional posters featuring representative artifacts from 13 regional national museums, aiming to highlight the diverse cultural heritage across South Korea. The museum expects the event to vividly showcase local heritage through participants' costumes and performances.

Regional preliminary competitions will be held on the first and second weekends of September. The first region (Central and Jeju) will compete at the National Chuncheon Museum on September 5. The second region (Buyeo, Gongju, Cheongju, Iksan) will compete at the National Gongju Museum on September 6. The third region (Gyeongju, Daegu, Jinju, Gimhae) will compete at the National Daegu Museum on September 12. The fourth region (Gwangju, Jeonju, Naju) will compete at the National Jeonju Museum on September 13. The final competition is scheduled for September 19 at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul.

Prize money has also been increased. The top five teams in the final, receiving the National Museum of Korea Director's Award, will each receive 3 million won (approximately $2,200). Five Excellence Awards will receive 1 million won each, and ten Participation Awards will receive 500,000 won each. Forty teams advancing to the regional preliminaries will receive 300,000 won each, with participants receiving transportation costs worth approximately 100,000 won per team.

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We confirmed last year that the museum became closer to the younger generation through the costume play event. As it is expanding into a cultural festival made by national museums nationwide this year, we hope more citizens can enjoy the charm of each region's heritage and K-Museum.