The "2026 NMK Costume Play" was held on a grand scale on the 19th at the Open Plaza of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Twenty-five teams that advanced through regional preliminaries across the country came dressed as artifacts from the museum's collection and gave free rein to their talents, while some 5,000 citizens packed the Open Plaza and cheered them on.
The artifact costume play is considered the first of its kind in the world. The idea is that instead of merely viewing artifacts in a museum's collection, participants experience their very appearance, sparking interest in history and cultural heritage while turning it into play. It is an event few other countries would dare attempt, unless young people there treat museums as a stage for play as they do in Korea.
Next year's event could even include Korean artifacts still scattered overseas. Given that a considerable number of Korean artifacts have been lost abroad, it could also serve as an occasion to keep them in the public memory. Artifacts from other countries could likewise become subjects of the "play." Belgian-born television personality Julian Quintart, who served as a judge at the event, said, "I hope this costume play that began in Korea will spread into a festival celebrated around the world."
At the "2026 NMK Costume Play," the grand prize — awarded on the basis of stage presentation and creativity — went to Jeon Eun-seul, who portrayed a "White Porcelain Water Dropper in the Shape of a Carp." Jeon drew praise for lying down on the floor to vividly render the flopping of a carp. Nine other teams also took home awards.
This year's "NMK Costume Play" held preliminaries nationwide, drawing a total of 275 teams (643 participants). With 25 teams reaching the finals at the National Museum of Korea on the 19th, the competition ratio was 11 to 1.
In a congratulatory address, Director Yoo said, "This is the result of the museum going beyond simply displaying old artifacts to create an occasion to enjoy them together with the public," adding, "The 'NMK Costume Play' has already become a festival found nowhere else in the world, and next year we will prepare an even grander event."
The NMK Costume Play began in 2024 under the name "NMK Is Alive," literally meaning that artifacts in the National Museum of Korea's collection come to life. At the time, it was conceived as an event marking the start of the "NMK Regular Meetup." Of the 36 teams that expressed interest in taking part, 20 appeared in that year's finals.
The event became a full-fledged competition with last year's "2025 NMK Costume Contest." Various events unfolded over three days under the name "NMK Costume Play," with the cosplay-based "NMK Costume Contest" as the main event. The contest drew applications from 86 teams, more than double the previous year, and the 10 selected teams competed at the museum's Open Plaza. After that event proved a smash hit, it was expanded this year into a "nationwide edition."
This year it was staged as a single event under the name "2026 NMK Costume Play." Notably, the costume competition was expanded nationwide, with separate preliminaries held at four national museums across the country — in Chuncheon, Gongju, Daegu and Jeonju — followed by the finals at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on the 19th. In name and substance, artifacts from across the nation went head to head.
Living up to the "play" in its name, the day's program featured, alongside the costume competition, congratulatory performances by the Andong Mask Dance troupe and singer Ahn Ye-eun, as well as runway appearances by Ottogi's mascot Ttugi and EBS character Pengsoo. The Korea Tourism Organization, Ottogi, Jung Kwan Jang, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, the Amorepacific Foundation, Kakao, Orion and the Korea Green Foundation also ran participatory booths.
With popular appeal in mind, many entries portrayed broadly similar artifacts, but in the end the grand prize has gone mainly to rarer works. Past grand prize winners include Lee Eun-mi, who in 2024 presented a costume modeled on the national treasure "Ten-Story Stone Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple Site in Gaeseong," and the two-member team "Earrings If You Hang Them on Your Ears," which in 2025 dressed as the treasure "Gold Earrings from Hwangodong, Gyeongju." This year's grand prize went to the "White Porcelain Water Dropper in the Shape of a Carp," a piece somewhat unfamiliar to the general public.
