A giant golden royal seal swayed down a red carpet to pounding music, along with two women — one dressed in a Western-style uniform from the Great Korean Empire period, the other in a green Joseon era official’s robe and sunglasses. “Where did the state seal go?” they called out as thousands of spectators cheered at the National Museum of Korea’s open plaza in Seoul on Saturday afternoon. The seal, handcrafted from a barbecue restaurant exhaust hood and a large box spray-painted gold, represented "Jegojibo," the royal seal used for imperial decrees. Looted and taken to Japan in 1911 during the colonial occupation, the seal returned home decades after Korea’s liberation. Their entrance set the tone for the final round of “Dress Like a Museum Exhibit,” the National Museum of Korea’s increasingly popular artifact cosplay contest. What began in 2024 as a small program has grown into a nationwide heritage fan event, drawing 275 teams and 643 participants this year — more than three times last year’s 83 entries. More than 2,000 people registered in advance to attend. The s