Sunday 18 October
Korea's national museums, palaces and parks
Hours, closing days, what it actually costs, how to get there from the airport, and how much English you will find when you arrive — checked against each institution's own pages, not copied from a brochure.
What's on
All events
Year-roundFreeKorea Tourism Organization·Event
Hongcheon Ginkgo Forest opens free each October — 2026 dates unannounced
The Hongcheon Ginkgo Forest, a privately owned grove of about 2,000 ginkgo trees in Naemyeon, Hongcheon County (Gangwon), opens to the public free of charge for roughly one month around October each year — in 2025 from 3 October to 2 November, 10:00–17:00. As of 16 October 2026 Hongcheon County had posted no official notice of this year's dates, so call the Hongcheon tourist information centre (033-433-1259) or the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline before you set off. There is nothing to book: you simply walk in during opening hours.
686-4 Gwangwon-ri, Naemyeon, Hongcheon County, Gangwon State
- Year-roundFreeNational Institute of Ecology
The ant exhibition at Korea's National Institute of Ecology
At the National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon, the Ant World Exploration exhibition hands visitors a lab coat and walks them through the working day of an ant scientist, ending with a report they write themselves. There is no separate charge — the standard admission of KRW 5,000 for adults covers it — and a 30-minute guided session runs year-round, in September 2026 at 10 am, 1 pm and 3 pm from Tuesday to Sunday except Wednesday. That guided session is conducted in Korean and booking needs a Korean-language account, but the exhibition itself can be walked without either.
Special exhibition hall, Ecorium, National Institute of Ecology
- On nowNational Institute of Ecology
Orangerie at the National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon — potted olives and palms until 15 November
The National Institute of Ecology (NIE, 국립생태원) in Seocheon has lined the entrance to its Ecorium with olive trees, Canary Island date palms and jelly palms planted in large movable containers rather than in the ground — a landscape display called "Orangerie: A History of Moving Plants", open until Sunday 15 November 2026. There is no separate charge: it is included in NIE admission (adults KRW 5,000, card payment only), and the site is closed on Mondays. No booking is needed or possible for general admission — you buy tickets at the gate, and sales stop at 4:30 pm.
28 Apr – 15 NovEcorium entrance, National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon
- On nowNational Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
How to get into the Do Ho Suh show at MMCA Seoul, where tickets drop weekly
MMCA Seoul's Do Ho Suh solo exhibition runs to 9 February 2027, but tickets are released a week at a time, every Monday at 6pm. Admission is KRW 8,000, timed entry, maximum four per booking. A separate same-day allocation is held back for the door, so a sold-out online calendar does not mean there is no way in — and Wednesdays and Saturdays have three more time slots than other days.
27 Aug – 9 FebMMCA Seoul, galleries 3, 4 and 5 on basement level 1 and the MMCA Studio on level 2, 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu
This weekend
- 1 Sept – 15 NovKorea National Park Service · Woljeongsa car park, Odaesan National ParkOdaesan: a car to Sangwonsa for less-mobile visitors — to 15 NovOn now
- 1 Sept – 28 FebKorea National Park Service · Chilseon Valley, Jirisan National Park, Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam. Starts at the Chuseong car parkJirisan's Chilseon Valley gets a QR stamp trail with AI narration, in English tooOn nowFree
- From 1 SeptKorea National Park Service · Naejangsan National Park, Jeongeup, Jeonbuk — visitor centre to the 108 Maple Road, the natural-monument maple, and Naejangsa templeNaejangsan's new wishing trail, and when the maples actually turnOn nowFree
- 1 Sept – 29 NovNational Museum of Korea · Gochang Dolmen Museum, Seongju Seongsan-dong Tumuli Exhibition Hall, and Cheongdo MuseumNational treasures are touring three small county museums until late NovemberOn nowFree
- 4 Sept – 8 NovKorea Tourism Organization · Six sites nationwide — Hongseong, Bonghwa, Nonsan, Yangyang, Mungyeong, CheongsongSix autumn food festivals in Korea — pine mushrooms 15–18 Oct, jeotgal, apples, and shrimp until 8 NovOn nowFree
- 4 Sept – 20 NovNational Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · MMCA Seoul, 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu — meet at the red postbox beside the museum shopMMCA Seoul's architecture tour, and the four centuries stacked under itOn nowFree
- 6 Sept – 25 OctKorea Tourism Organization · Jamsugyo Bridge and Banpo Hangang ParkCar-free Jamsugyo Bridge festival, Seoul — last season, Sundays to 25 OctoberEnding soonFree
- From 10 SeptNational Institute of Ecology · National Institute of Ecology, EcoriumA new climate gallery opens the Ecorium — Seocheon, KRW 5,000On now
Where to go
All places to visit12 institutions, grouped by what you would go there to do. Each group page compares the hours, closing days and admission of everything in it side by side.
National parks
Mountains, coastlines and islands to walk and climb
Arboretums
Curated plant collections and seed-bank research sites
Ecology centres
Indoor biomes and wetlands built for learning
National museums
Permanent collections, free to enter
Art museums
Modern and contemporary art across several buildings
Palaces
Joseon-era palaces, shrines and royal tombs
Science museums
Hands-on exhibits and planetariums
Maritime museums
Ships, ports and marine life
Why trust these numbers
Every opening time, closing day and admission charge here was read off the institution’s own page, confirmed against a second page where a number was involved, and stamped with the date it was checked. When the Korean side of this site re-checks a fact, an automated test fails until the English page has been re-read against it — the two cannot quietly drift apart. We are independent of every institution listed.