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Guide · National Museum of Korea · 10 min read

Which of Korea's national museums are free, and when are they closed?

Admission, closing days, and late-night hours at the National Museum of Korea, the Folk, Palace, and Contemporary History museums in Seoul, and twelve regional national museums, checked against each museum's own site.

Kang Shin-wookUpdated 22 September 2026Editorial policy

In short

  • Permanent galleries are free at every national museum listed here. You pay only for the occasional ticketed special exhibition.
  • Every museum closes on 1 January, on Seollal (Lunar New Year, 17 February 2026), and on Chuseok (25 September 2026). Only those single days, not the whole holiday week.
  • Monday rules differ: the four big Seoul museums plus Gyeongju, Gwangju, and Jeonju stay open on Mondays; the other regional museums close every Monday.
  • Late nights in Seoul: the National Museum of Korea and the Contemporary History museum run to 9 pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays; the Palace Museum to 9 pm on Saturdays and the last Wednesday of the month; the Folk Museum to 8 pm on Wednesdays from March to October.
  • The National Hangeul Museum is closed for rebuilding until the second half of 2028.

Hours and closures were checked 22 September 2026 on each museum's official site. Chuseok falls on Friday 25 September this year.

What does "free" actually cover?

At the National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관, NMK) in Yongsan, Seoul, the permanent halls and the Children's Museum cost nothing; only special exhibitions marked as charged need a ticket. The outdoor pagoda garden is open from 7 am to 10 pm with no ticket at all.

The regional branches follow the same pattern: Gyeongju even lists its special exhibition halls as free apart from ticketed shows, Jeju says most special exhibitions are free, and Naju, Gimhae, Daegu, Cheongju, Iksan, and Jeonju state general admission is free with a possible fee for a special exhibition.

The three museums around Gyeongbokgung are free as well: the National Folk Museum (국립민속박물관), the National Palace Museum (국립고궁박물관), which has waived admission until further notice, and the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History (대한민국역사박물관).

Two catches. Daegu asks you to collect a free ticket at the visitor desk before entering. Jinju sits inside Jinjuseong Fortress: the museum is free, but non-residents pay the fortress entry (2,000 won for adults, 1,000 won for youth; under-7s and over-65s free).

When are they closed?

Three days are universal: 1 January, Seollal, and Chuseok, which in 2026 fall on Saturday 17 February and Friday 25 September. The museums close only on the holiday itself.

Monday is where visitors get caught. The four Seoul museums open on Mondays, as do Gyeongju, Gwangju, and Jeonju (Jeonju dropped its Monday closure in January 2017). They have scheduled maintenance days instead:

  • NMK: galleries close on the first Monday of March, June, September, and December, although the museum notes there was no March closure in 2026.
  • Palace Museum: closed the last Monday of every month; if that is a public holiday, the closure moves to the following day.
  • Gwangju: closed on the Monday of the first week of April and of November.
  • Jeonju: temporary closures on Monday 14 September and Monday 14 December 2026.
  • Folk Museum: a one-off closure on 7 July 2026.

Daegu, Gongju, Jinju, Cheongju, Gimhae, Jeju, Chuncheon, Naju, and Iksan close every Monday. When a Monday is a public holiday they open and shift the closure to the next weekday.

Which museums stay open late?

MuseumPermanent exhibitionClosedLate nights
National Museum of Korea (Seoul)Free; charged special shows1 Jan, Seollal, Chuseok; 1st Mon of Mar/Jun/Sep/DecWed and Sat to 9 pm (last entry 8:30)
National Folk Museum (Seoul)Free1 Jan, Seollal, Chuseok; 7 Jul 2026Wed to 8 pm, Mar–Oct only (entry to 7 pm)
Contemporary History (Seoul)Free1 Jan, Seollal (listed as New Year's Day), ChuseokWed and Sat to 9 pm
National Palace Museum (Seoul)Free1 Jan, Seollal, Chuseok; last Mon monthlySat and last Wed to 9 pm (last entry 8:30)
National Hangeul Museum (Seoul)Closed until 2H 2028——
GyeongjuFree1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokEvery Sat Mar–Dec and last Wed to 9 pm; Sat/Sun/holidays to 7 pm otherwise
GwangjuFree; charged special shows1 Jan, Seollal, Chuseok; Mon of 1st week Apr and NovSat Apr–Oct and last Wed to 8 pm
JeonjuFree; special may charge1 Jan, Seollal, Chuseok; 14 Sep and 14 Dec 2026None (10 am–6 pm)
DaeguFree (collect a ticket)Every Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)
GongjuFree; special may chargeEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokSuspended
JinjuFree (fortress fee applies)Every Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokSuspended
CheongjuFreeEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)
GimhaeFree; special may chargeEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)
JejuFree incl. most special showsEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)
ChuncheonNot stated on English pageEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)
NajuFree; special may chargeEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)
IksanFreeEvery Mon, 1 Jan, Seollal, ChuseokNone (9 am–6 pm)

Regular hours differ too. The NMK and the Palace Museum open at 9:30 am and close at 5:30 pm on ordinary days, last entry 5 pm. The Contemporary History museum runs 10 am to 6 pm. The Folk Museum is seasonal, 9 am to 6 pm from March to October and 9 am to 5 pm from November to February, and it stops admitting people a full hour before closing rather than the usual 30 minutes.

Outside Seoul, Gyeongju is the most generous: 10 am to 7 pm on weekends and holidays, and 9 pm closes every Saturday from March through December. Gwangju also opens at 10 am; the rest run 9 am to 6 pm. Gongju and Jinju list evening hours but mark them as suspended.

How much English will you find?

The NMK publishes downloadable visitor guides in English, Chinese, and Japanese, plus French, German, and Spanish, and self-study guides for children in six languages including Vietnamese and Mongolian.

The Contemporary History museum is the easiest for a walk-in English tour: a free guided tour leaves the fifth-floor History Gallery entrance every Thursday at 2:30 pm, lasts about 50 minutes, and needs no booking. English audio guides for that gallery are lent free at the first-floor information desk against an ID, or scan the QR code in the gallery and listen on your own phone. Groups of ten or more can book docents in eight languages with five business days' notice.

The Palace Museum rents audio guides in English, Japanese, and Chinese for 1,000 won at the second-floor information desk (ID required; the children's version is 3,000 won). Foreign-language guided tours run on weekdays between 1 pm and 3 pm from the same desk. The Folk Museum lends an audio device at its information desk, also against ID.

Gongju and Jeju both offer a free museum app in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese that triggers commentary by Bluetooth beacon; bring earphones and switch on location services. Jinju runs guided tours in English, Japanese, and Mandarin for groups under 30 if booked ahead, and Iksan hands out leaflets in English, Japanese, and Chinese.

What trips up first-time visitors?

Bags: the NMK requires backpacks and schoolbags to go into the first-floor lockers before you enter the galleries, and locker numbers are limited. The Palace Museum keeps a left-luggage point behind the second-floor information desk. Audio-guide rentals at the Palace, Folk, and Contemporary History museums all need an ID, so carry a passport or driving licence.

The one-hour cut-off: the Folk Museum admits nobody after 5 pm in the summer season and 4 pm in winter, while everywhere else the cut-off is 30 minutes.

Gyeongbokgung confusion: the Folk Museum stands inside the palace grounds but is free; the palace itself is a separate paid ticket.

No food or drink in galleries, no flash, no tripods: every site states this.

Frequently asked questions

Is the National Museum of Korea free for foreigners? Yes. Free admission to the permanent halls applies to everyone regardless of nationality. Only specially marked paid exhibitions charge, and those are ticketed separately.

Which national museums in Seoul are open on Mondays? All four: the NMK, Folk, Palace, and Contemporary History museums. The exceptions are the NMK's first-Monday gallery closures in March, June, September, and December, and the Palace Museum's last Monday of each month.

Can I visit the National Hangeul Museum? Not until the second half of 2028. The building is being repaired after fire damage and extended at the same time; exhibitions and education programmes continue at other venues, so check its site before travelling to Yongsan.

Where can I see a museum in the evening on a weekday? On Wednesdays: the National Museum of Korea and the Contemporary History museum to 9 pm, the Folk Museum to 8 pm from March to October, and the Palace Museum to 9 pm on the last Wednesday of the month only. Outside Seoul, Gyeongju and Gwangju open late on the last Wednesday.

Are the regional museums also closed on Chuseok? Yes, all of them close on Chuseok day (25 September 2026) and Seollal day, and most also close every Monday. Gyeongju, Gwangju, and Jeonju are the regional exceptions that open on Mondays.

Sources

Last updated 2026-09-22