Joseon royal tomb day tours: last six of 2026 — 1–14 November

Wangneung Palgyeong — 'eight views of the royal tombs' — divides Joseon history from the dynasty's founding to the Korean Empire into eight routes. Each spends a day on one or two royal tombs plus a palace or local heritage site, with an expert guide. This year's programme began in late April and ends on 14 November; in November, the routes of King Sejong, the King and his Ministers, King Taejo, King Jeongjo, Emperor Gojong and the Gwangju Magistrate each run once more. All eleven first-half trips sold out, carrying 349 people, and the Sejong and Jeongjo routes were added for the second half.

Which routes are left in November, and when?

According to the trip-date table on the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center's event page, these are the six November trips. Only the 8 November King Taejo route departs from Daejeon, for participants outside the capital region.

Which royal tombs does each route visit?

1 November, King Sejong starts at Yeongneung in Yeoju, the tomb of the king who created the Korean alphabet, then goes to Silleuksa Temple on the Namhan River and ends at a pottery workshop where participants make a small moon jar. With children in tow, it is the route with the most to talk about.

6 November, the King and his Ministers begins at the Yi I historic site in Paju, home of the scholar Yulgok, then visits King Injo's Jangneung and the National Folk Museum's Paju branch. 8 November, King Taejo goes from Gyeongbokgung via the Hoeamsa Temple site in Yangju to Geonwolleung at Donggureung in Guri. Geonwolleung is the only Joseon royal tomb whose mound is covered in silver grass rather than turf.

9 November, King Jeongjo is new this autumn. It starts at the palace inside Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, passes Yongjusa Temple and ends at Yungneung and Geolleung, where Crown Prince Sado (posthumously King Jangjo) and his son King Jeongjo lie side by side. 13 November, Emperor Gojong runs from Deoksugung and the Hwangudan altar site through Jongmyo and the Donggwanwangmyo shrine to King Gyeongjong's Uireung in Seoul, and 14 November, the Gwangju Magistrate closes the year via the Bunwon porcelain archive and Namhansanseong at Heonneung (King Taejong) and Illeung (King Sunjo) in Naegok-dong, Seoul.

Which routes do not run in November?

Two of the eight routes have no November date: Route 3, King Danjong (an overnight trip), and Route 7, the Royal Mothers. Danjong's last trip was 30–31 October and the Royal Mothers' was 26 October. To see Jangneung in Yeongwol, Sareung in Namyangju or Seosamneung in Goyang on a guided trip, wait for next year's schedule.

What does the fee include?

Every participant gets a small dish made for the programme, decorated with a royal tomb design. Depending on the route there is also a workshop, sound therapy or a short concert; in November, the King Sejong route includes moon-jar making and the King and his Ministers route includes wooden seal carving. The announced commentary is in Korean, and no foreign-language sessions have been offered.

Geonwolleung's burial mound also opens 3–8 November

At Geonwolleung, the tomb visited by the 8 November Taejo route, the normally closed mound area opens twice a day from 3 to 8 November, while the silver grass is at its fullest. It is a separate event with its own sign-up; booking status and the on-site queue are in our Geonwolleung post.

How do I book?

• Choose a date on the operator Travel Story's Naver Booking page (naver.me/xB43M7q0); places go first come, first served. November booking opened on 13 October at 11am.
• One booking can cover up to four people.
• Over-65s, disabled people and national merit recipients can book by phone on +82-2-738-4001 during the operator's office hours.
• Participants must be of primary-school age or older.

Visiting the royal tombs on your own

If you do not read Korean, the tombs are easier to visit independently than on these trips. The Joseon royal tombs have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009, and the main sites carry English signboards. Donggureung in Guri, with nine tombs including Geonwolleung, is the largest group and an easy bus ride from eastern Seoul; Heonneung and Illeung in Seoul's Seocho district are the closest to the city; Yungneung and Geolleung pair naturally with a day at Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. Most royal tombs close on Mondays, so check the hours on the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center's English pages before you go. For the guided trip itself, booking runs through Naver: you need a Naver account, the page is in Korean, and we could not confirm that it accepts a foreign phone number.