Daejeon, July 27–31
In the post-pandemic era, while the global museum sector faced a systemic crisis of declining attendance, the National Museum of Korea (NMK) emerged as a critical statistical anomaly and an unusual case. While its top-ten global peers struggled to recover pre-pandemic levels, the NMK achieved a sustained growth of 25% by 2023. To understand this phenomenon, this research defines its unit of analysis specifically as the NMK’s digital transformation strategy and its resulting visitor engagement.
The core research questions are "how" and "why" the NMK’s 'Transformative Model '—utilizing AI and XR technologies—influenced visitor participation in digital heritage engagement so effectively. Rather than viewing digitization as a mere crisis substitute, this study investigates the process by which advanced ICT infrastructures facilitate a deep neuro-cultural resonance —rooted in collaborative joint attention and sustained cognitive demand— between the museum ecosystem and the visitor’s brain.
I propose a neuro-cultural explanation based on two theoretical pillars:
1. The Social Pillar, which addresses the human need for joint attention and collaborative intentionality (Tomasello 2000) through NLP-driven 'QI' AI docents (hereafter, 'QI').
2. The Neuro Pillar, which explores the sustained cognitive demand (Kitayama 2011) stimulated by multi-sensory Digital Immersive Galleries (D.I.G.).
Crucially, this study addresses the "post-pandemic compensation effect" as a powerful societal rival explanation. It questions whether the NMK's success is merely a result of pent-up demand for in-person activities or a fundamental shift in cognitive engagement. By systematically rejecting this rival through explanation building, the research aims for analytic generalization. Ultimately, it positions the NMK case as a theoretical temple for global cultural institutions navigating the AI transition, redefining the future of digital heritage engagement as a cognitively-aligned site of active Remembering.
This study adopts an interdisciplinary explanatory framework, connecting empirical data to two foundational paradigms to analyze how and why digital heritage engagement occurs at a cognitive level.
The first theoretical pillar is drawn from Michael Tomasello’s (2000) research on human culture. This research presents the theoretical proposition that participatory digital programs are cognitively compelling because they satisfy a fundamental drive for "joint attention" and "collaborative intentionality"—defined here as the capacity to engage in shared tasks with common goals and coordinated intentions (Tomasello 2000).
By articulating this proposition early, the study identifies a specific line of inquiry: whether
the NMK’s 'QI' AI docent (hereafter, 'QI') functions as a social agent that triggers these mechanisms. This focus explains the pedagogical shift from passive observation to self-led, ‘instructed learning’ (Tomasello 2000).
The second pillar utilizes the neuro-culture interaction model (Kitayama / Uskul 2011), grounded in the principle of neuroplasticity. This model serves as an analytic template to assess the "neuro-compatibility" of the NMK’s immersive technologies—specifically how multi-sensory Digital Immersive Galleries (D.I.G.) align with the neural pathways of brains shaped by contemporary screen culture. Following the logic of pattern matching, the study investigates whether the interactivity and agency offered by digital twins provide a deep cognitive adaptation rather than a mere technical upgrade.
Acknowledging the absence of direct neuro-empirical data, this framework incorporates the identification of plausible rival explanations as a core component of the research design. The primary competing hypothesis to be examined is the "post-pandemic compensation effect"—a societal rival positing that the observed surge in engagement is simply a byproduct of pent-up demand for in-person cultural activities following long periods of pandemic-related restrictions. By articulating this rival at the theoretical level, the study establishes a critical baseline to evaluate whether the NMK’s resilience stems from a genuine neuro-cultural resonance or from external environmental fluctuations.
This study utilizes an explanatory single-case study design (Yin 2018) to investigate the neuro-cognitive alignment within the NMK’s digital ecosystem. The research follows a formal methodological path to evaluate how strategic choices resonate with established neuro-cognitive theories through a robust chain of evidence.
To ensure construct validity, this research employs data triangulation. Strategic intent is identified through qualitative deductive coding of institutional documents, primarily the Digital Strategy 2025. Quantitative behavioral outcomes are derived from longitudinal archival records (National Museum of Korea 2019–2023) to analyze longitudinal engagement patterns.
To analyze the neuro-cognitive resonance of the NMK ecosystem, two behavioral proxies are operationalized from archival data. Social Engagement Intensity is calculated as (Total QI Engagements/Total Physical Visitors) ×100 to measure collaborative intentionality (Tomasello 2000). Immersive Density is defined as an index of engagement (Daily Average Visitors=Total Digital Immersive Galleries (D.I.G.)/ Operating Days and Visitor Share (%) of D.I.G.=Total D.I.G Visitors/ Total Annual Physical Visitors x100) to assess the intensity of sustained cognitive demand within the Digital Immersive Galleries (D.I.G.).
The analysis follows a three-step strategy to link empirical evidence to the theoretical propositions. First, the strategic documents undergo deductive coding to categorize institutional intent (e.g., "visitor-led control") under the social and neuro-cognitive pillars. Second, qualitative intent is integrated with quantitative behavioral data through pattern matching to identify whether strategic shifts produced predicted spikes in engagement. Finally, an iterative explanation-building process is employed to test and reject the "post-pandemic compensation effect". This procedure specifically operationalizes the rejection by analyzing the statistical correlation between digital traffic and physical attendance. The analytic rule is defined as follows: the rival explanation is invalidated if the evidence demonstrates a synchronized upward trajectory—proving that digital engagement functioned as a "gateway" for physical visits rather than a temporary substitutive effect. This iterative refinement ensures that the final explanation for institutional resilience is grounded in a robust chain of evidence.
In this chapter, the NMK’s digital transformation is analyzed through two primary theoretical lenses: the Social Pillar and the Neuro Pillar.
The first pattern matching aligns the NMK’s ‘QI’ AI docent (hereafter, QI) strategy with the theoretical construct of collaborative intentionality. Qualitatively, the museum’s Digital Strategy 2025 mandated a pedagogical shift toward hyper-personalized engagement via NLP-driven QI and user-participatory platforms, such as the "user-curator" system, to foster social-cognitive resonance. This institutional intent was empirically substantiated as Social Engagement Intensity (QI interactions per 100 visitors) surged from a 2019 baseline of 4 to a peak of 12 in 2021, eventually stabilizing at 9 in 2023—still more than double the pre-pandemic baseline. This pattern confirms that the QI evolved into a core pedagogical tool for joint attention, matching the predicted theoretical benchmarks for social engagement.
The second match demonstrates a resonance between sustained cognitive demand and the use of immersive media. NMK's strategic intent focused on an experiential shift by expanding multi-sensory Digital Immersive Galleries (D.I.G.), providing visitors with agency through interactive elements like real-time content customization. Quantitatively, the efficacy of this shift was validated as the Daily Average Visitors to D.I.G. more than doubled from 1,053 in 2021 to 2,769 in 2023. Despite operational constraints and reservation caps, a consistent D.I.G. Visitor Share of 23–24% suggests a state of near-saturation, proving that immersive technology has successfully stimulated the neuro-cognitive effort required for deep engagement.
Finally, the analysis utilizes explanation building to systematically reject the "post-pandemic compensation effect" as a rival explanation for the museum's growth. While physical attendance plummeted by 77% (to 0.77 million) during the 2020 crisis peak, website traffic remained robust at over 3 million visits, functioning as a mechanism for relational continuity. In the recovery phase (2021–2023), as digital engagement surged to a record 6.56 million, physical attendance followed a synchronized upward trajectory to 4.18 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic baseline. This correlation refutes the notion of digital tools as provisional substitutes, confirming instead that the digital ecosystem acted as a crucial gateway and fundamental driver of institutional resilience.
In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the NMK’s digital transformation was a neuro-cultural resonance that fulfilled fundamental human needs for joint attention while aligning with the digitally immersive brains. By applying this framework, the research achieves analytic generalization, providing a theoretical template for global institutions navigating the AI transition.
Crucially, by rejecting the "post-pandemic compensation effect," this study proves that digital engagement is a fundamental driver of institutional resilience rather than a temporary substitute. However, as museums increasingly function as "memory machines"—cognitive interfaces intimately connected to the human neural system—they must be recognized as subjects of rigorous ethical design. Future research must ensure that the stewardship of these systems moves beyond technical efficiency to address digital divides that could reinforce systemic social inequalities. This necessitates the implementation of transparent data management policies to uphold the NMK’s core vision of a "Museum for All". Ultimately, these platforms must be designed with deep ethical awareness to foster an inclusive architecture for active Remembering.