An unusual exhibition where visitors can encounter Korea's lost national heritage alongside the popular game "Cookie Run" universe will open at Dondeokjeon in Deoksu Palace.
The Korea Heritage Service and domestic game company Devsisters said on the 8th that from the 9th through Mar. 1, 2026, they will hold a special exhibition marking the second National Heritage Day, "Cookie Run: In search of the vanished national heritage," at Dondeokjeon in Deoksu Palace.
Using the intellectual property (IP) of the mobile game "Cookie Run," which is popular at home and abroad, the exhibition reexamines the value and meaning of national heritage in everyday life. The first and second floors of Dondeokjeon in Deoksu Palace, totaling about 250 pyeong, will be fully opened for the first time for this exhibition. Comprising five parts, it follows "Brave Cookie," the flagship "Cookie Run" character, and friends as they set out to find the dream Emperor Gojong could not fulfill.
In the second-floor galleries of Dondeokjeon, visitors can view artifacts related to palaces, such as the proclamation process of the Korean Empire and the "Gyeongun Palace Reconstruction Agency Uigwe," and see the imagined painting "Deoksu Palace, the emperor's dream blooms again," which restores, with Cookie Run characters, the imperial palace as the emperor envisioned it, rather than its damaged state from the Japanese colonial era. They can also see artifacts related to the reorganization of modern diplomacy, such as the "Order Decorations of Korea" and the "Royal Portrait Copying Agency Uigwe," and the imagined painting "Chinggyeong ritual, opening a new era," which turns the "Chinggyeong ritual" prepared to announce the proclamation of the Korean Empire to the world into a folding screen.
The exhibition hall also features "The undying light of hope," which captures the ideal of the Korean Empire—seeking wealth and military strength through modernization—harmonized with today's Seoul and Cookie Run characters. The work can be viewed as a media wall shown on a 27-meter LED panel installed across the entire wall of the first-floor gallery of Dondeokjeon.
The fifth and final part presents a restored "Great Seal of Korea" by Kim Young-hee, holder of the national intangible heritage craft of jade carving, in a dedicated space. The Great Seal of Korea, created in 1897 as the representative state seal of the Korean Empire, was taken to Japan in 1911 and returned in 1946, but went missing during the Korean War and no original remains. However, through diagrams and production regulations preserved in the "Boin Bushin Chong-su" and the "Great Ceremony Uigwe," its appearance at the time has been revived in today's restoration. On the first floor, visitors can also see the media art "Jeongipumsong, embracing time," featuring natural heritage such as the "Jeongipumsong pine in Songni, Boeun, North Chungcheong," selected as the 2025 Natural Heritage of the Year, and scenic site "Suncheon Bay."
Cookie Run goods produced in-house that infuse the sensibility of Korean traditional culture will also be unveiled. Items available at the Deoksu Palace gift shop include a stamp sticker set, postcard set, posters, an acrylic diorama, and magnets, and exclusively online, "Brave Cookie Great Seal of Korea" and "embroidery norigae" have been released.
In addition, in collaboration with the handmade commerce platform Idus, 29 kinds of diverse goods, including a ribbon hair string keyring, knot bracelet, mother-of-pearl cup, and traditional mood lamp, have been launched. These products can be purchased through the Deoksu Palace gift shop and Idus' online channels.