Gyeongbokgung Palace: What to Check Before You Go
Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) was the main palace of the Joseon dynasty and is the largest of the five palaces in central Seoul. The Korea Heritage Service dates its construction to 1395. It burned during the Japanese invasion of 1592, sat empty for roughly 270 years and was rebuilt under King Gojong; only about a tenth of that rebuilt palace survived the colonial period, and reconstruction has run since 1990.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Closed | Tuesdays |
| Adult ticket | KRW 3,000 for foreign visitors aged 19 to 64 |
| Combined ticket | KRW 6,000, four palaces plus Jongmyo (종묘), valid six months |
| Guard ceremony | 10:00 and 14:00 at Gwanghwamun (광화문) |
| English guided tour | 11:00, 13:30 and 15:30, free |
| Address | 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03045 |
Hours by season, and the Tuesday closure
| Months | Hours | Last admission |
|---|---|---|
| January to February, November to December | 09:00 to 17:00 | 16:00 |
| March to May, September to October | 09:00 to 18:00 | 17:00 |
| June to August | 09:00 to 18:30 | 17:30 |
Gyeongbokgung shares its Tuesday closure with Jongmyo. Changdeokgung (창덕궁), Changgyeonggung (창경궁) and Deoksugung (덕수궁) close on Mondays instead, so no single day shuts the central palaces together. When a closing day falls on a public holiday the site opens anyway, and the first non-holiday after that becomes the closing day, so around Seollal and Chuseok the closure can move.
Tickets, and the combined palace ticket
An adult ticket is KRW 3,000, the same for Korean and foreign visitors, and KRW 2,400 each for groups of ten or more. The paying band is 19 to 64 for foreign visitors, 25 to 64 for Korean nationals.
The combined palace ticket is KRW 6,000 and covers Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo. It is valid six months from purchase, sold at those sites' ticket offices, and excludes Changdeokgung's Secret Garden.
Ways to get in free
- Wearing hanbok. The Korea Heritage Service says the point of the rule is to popularise hanbok, so it applies to Korean and foreign visitors alike.
- Culture Day. The fee page lists the last Wednesday of each month as free, with Changdeokgung's Secret Garden excluded.
- Age. Foreign visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and over; Korean nationals aged 24 and under or 65 and over, with ID.
- Other categories include pregnant visitors with one companion, and registered disabled visitors with one carer where the disability is severe.
The hanbok rule has a published guideline, because staff judge it at the gate. Traditional and modern everyday hanbok both qualify, but you need a top and a bottom: a jeogori jacket with an overlapping collar, plus a skirt or trousers. A jeogori over jeans, or a hanbok skirt with a T-shirt, is turned down. See our hanbok rental guide.
The changing of the guard
The ceremony takes place at Gwanghwamun, the main gate, and on the Heungnyemun (흥례문) plaza just inside it.
| Programme | Times | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Guard Changing Ceremony | 10:00, 14:00 | 20 minutes |
| Gwanghwamun Gate Guard Ceremony | 11:00, 13:00 | 10 minutes |
| Public drill of the guards | 09:35, 13:35 | 15 minutes |
Sentry duty continues on the hour after each ceremony, and none of it runs on Tuesdays. A patrol is added on weekends and public holidays from March to May and September to November, 15:00 to 16:00. Performances stop in dangerous weather: a severe heatwave alert has suspended the programme before, so in midsummer or deep winter check the notice board that morning.
Free guided tours in English
English tours run at 11:00, 13:30 and 15:30 on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, starting in front of the information office inside Heungnyemun, lasting one to one and a half hours. Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and French tours have their own timetables. Under ten people can turn up unbooked; larger groups book by phone. Tours leave on time, latecomers are not admitted, and they run in rain.
What to see, and the official routes
The palace publishes three walking routes. The 40-minute one runs Heungnyemun, the Geunjeongjeon (근정전) throne hall, Sajeongjeon, Sujeongjeon and Gyeonghoeru (경회루); the 60-minute version adds Gyotaejeon, Gangnyeongjeon and Jagyeongjeon; the 90-minute one ends at Hyangwonjeong (향원정), the island pavilion in the northern garden, near Geoncheonggung, where Empress Myeongseong was killed in October 1895.
Gyeonghoeru and Hyangwonjeong: separate booking
Both pavilions are visible from the path with an ordinary ticket, but going inside is a separate programme on Wednesdays and Fridays, in two seasonal blocks in spring and autumn, pausing over the hottest months and over Chuseok. Sessions are at 10:00 and 14:00, run about 70 minutes and take 25 people, covering Gyeonghoeru's two floors, the Chwihyanggyo bridge and Hyangwonjeong's ground floor. The programme is free, but palace admission is not, and commentary is in Korean only: the palace states that visitors who cannot follow it are unable to join. Book online through the Korea Heritage Service reservation portal, two tickets per person, from 10:00 nine days before your date until three days before. Dates shift each year, so check the portal.
Night opening
Gyeongbokgung does not open in the evening as a rule. It runs limited night-opening seasons instead, announced twice a year in recent years, one in the first half and one in autumn, with dates and the booking window on the palace notice board. In the most recent announced season, evenings ran 19:00 to 21:30, last admission 20:30, at KRW 3,000. Tickets sell online in advance and go quickly, but a small daily on-site quota is held for foreign visitors, two per person, passport required. Visitors in hanbok, children aged 6 and under and anyone 65 or over enter free without booking. The dates change with each season, so check the notice board.
Two national museums share the grounds
The National Palace Museum of Korea sits at the southwest corner, two minutes from Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 5, holding royal court collections. Admission is free until further notice. It opens 09:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday and Sunday, last entry 17:00, and 09:30 to 21:00 on Saturdays and on the last Wednesday of the month. It closes on 1 January, on Seollal and Chuseok, and on the last Monday of each month.
The National Folk Museum of Korea, on the northeast side at 37 Samcheong-ro, covers everyday Korean life and is free too, though its visitor page notes a palace ticket is still needed to enter Gyeongbokgung itself. Hours are 09:00 to 18:00 from March to October, entry until 17:00, extended to 20:00 on Wednesdays; and 09:00 to 17:00 from November to February, entry until 16:00. Its listed closing days are 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok, which do not match the palace's Tuesday closure, so ask the museum how to enter on a Tuesday. It runs free English docent tours.
Getting there, and the other palaces
Exit 5 at Gyeongbokgung Station on Line 3 is two minutes from the palace and beside the National Palace Museum. Anguk Station Exit 1 (Line 3) and Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2 (Line 5) are both about six minutes on foot; Anguk suits a Bukchon pairing. For cards and apps, see getting around Korea.
Changdeokgung is at 99 Yulgok-ro, five minutes from Anguk Station Exit 3, open 09:00 to 18:00 in spring and autumn, to 18:30 from June to August and to 17:30 from November to January. Its Secret Garden needs a separate KRW 5,000 adult ticket on top of the palace ticket, and slots go fast in April, May, October and November; our Secret Garden guide covers it. Changgyeonggung, at 185 Changgyeonggung-ro, is KRW 1,000 and open to 21:00 year-round. Since those close on Mondays and Gyeongbokgung on Tuesdays, two half-days beat one long day; see our Seoul palaces guide.
House rules: the grounds are non-smoking, and pets are not admitted apart from assistance dogs. New arrivals can skim first week in Korea and Korean etiquette.
FAQ
Q. What day is Gyeongbokgung Palace closed?
Tuesdays. Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung close on Mondays instead, so there is no single day when the central palaces are shut together. Under the Korea Heritage Service visiting regulations, if a closing day falls on a public holiday the palace opens anyway and the first non-holiday after that becomes the closing day, which can move the Tuesday closure around Seollal and Chuseok.
Q. How much is admission to Gyeongbokgung Palace?
KRW 3,000 for an adult, the same price for Korean and foreign visitors, and KRW 2,400 each for groups of ten or more. The paying age band is 19 to 64 for foreign visitors and 25 to 64 for Korean nationals. If you want more than one palace, the combined ticket is KRW 6,000 and covers the four palaces plus Jongmyo for six months, though not Changdeokgung's Secret Garden.
Q. Can I enter Gyeongbokgung for free in hanbok?
Yes. The Korea Heritage Service applies the rule to Korean and foreign visitors alike, and both traditional and modern everyday hanbok qualify. Staff check at the gate against a published guideline: you need a jeogori jacket with an overlapping collar plus a skirt or trousers. A jeogori over jeans, or a hanbok skirt with a T-shirt, is turned down. The last Wednesday of each month is also free.
Q. What time is the changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung?
The Royal Guard Changing Ceremony runs at 10:00 and 14:00 and lasts 20 minutes, at Gwanghwamun and the Heungnyemun plaza. The Gwanghwamun Gate Guard Ceremony is at 11:00 and 13:00, and a public drill of the guards at 09:35 and 13:35. None of it runs on Tuesdays, and performances stop in dangerous weather - a severe heatwave alert has suspended the whole programme before.
Q. Is there a free English guided tour of Gyeongbokgung?
Yes, at 11:00, 13:30 and 15:30 on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tours start in front of the information office inside Heungnyemun and last one to one and a half hours. Under ten people can turn up without booking; larger groups book by phone. Tours leave on time, latecomers are not admitted, and they run in rain.
Q. Can you go inside Gyeonghoeru and Hyangwonjeong?
Only on a separate guided programme, which runs on Wednesdays and Fridays in two seasonal blocks in spring and autumn, at 10:00 and 14:00 for about 70 minutes with 25 places. It is free but palace admission is not, and commentary is in Korean only - the palace states that visitors who cannot follow it are unable to join. Book on the Korea Heritage Service reservation portal from nine days before until three days before.
Sources
- Korea Heritage Service, Royal Palaces and Tombs Center - Opening hours by palace — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Admission fees, combined ticket and free-admission categories — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Hanbok free-admission guideline — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Gyeongbokgung guided tours by language and Gyeonghoeru special tour — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Directions to Gyeongbokgung — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Recommended 40, 60 and 90 minute routes — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Palace visiting regulations (closing days, conduct, photography) — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service notice - Gyeonghoeru and Hyangwonjeong special tour — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service notice - Gyeongbokgung night opening — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service notice - Guard ceremony suspended under heatwave alert (programme times) — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service - Gyeongbokgung reservation portal — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Service FAQ - Gyeongbokgung history — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Agency - Royal Guard Changing Ceremony programme — checked 2026-08-23
- Korea Heritage Agency - Guard ceremony visitor notes (no ceremony on Tuesdays) — checked 2026-08-23
- National Palace Museum of Korea - Visitor information (free admission, hours, closing days) — checked 2026-08-23
- National Folk Museum of Korea - Visiting information — checked 2026-08-23
- Visit Seoul, official Seoul tourism site - Gyeongbokgung Palace — checked 2026-08-23
Written and maintained by OPDADA · Last checked 2026-08-23 · Spotted an error? Let us know. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules, prices and schedules change — confirm with the official source before you act.