The number of museums, including art galleries, in South Korea will increase by 16 percent over the next five years under a government proposal to make representative cultural infrastructure more accessible to the public, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.

The ministry unveiled a medium and long-term museum expansion plan to raise the number of museums nationwide by 186 from the current 1,124 to 1,310 in 2023.

By the target year, the nation will have 1,013 museums, up from 873, and 297 art galleries, up from 251, according to the plan. (Yonhap)