Is Buyeo National Museum open?

Partly. The permanent galleries closed on 28 July 2026 for a full redisplay and are planned to reopen on 14 December. The Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner hall and the children's museum remain open, both free.

Can I still see the incense burner?

Yes — that hall is one of the two still open, and it is free. Entry is by timed slot, with 120 places every twenty minutes, ticketed from the kiosk on the day.

How do I get a ticket?

From the kiosk inside the Sabimaru performance hall, for both open halls, from 9:00am on the day for any of that day's slots. There is no online booking and no group booking, and tickets cost nothing.

What if I am late for my slot?

More than ten minutes after it starts, entry is refused. Since tickets are issued at a different building from the halls, allow time to walk between the two.

When do the main galleries reopen?

December 2026, planned for the 14th, with a rebuilt Sabi Baekje gallery and a new gallery on the Songgung-ri culture. The museum has not committed to a precise opening date beyond that.

Notice·National Museum of Korea

Buyeo National Museum's main galleries are shut until December — but the great incense burner is not

Kang Shin-wookPublished 22 September 2026Updated 21 September 20263 sources checkedEditorial policy 이 글을 한국어로 읽기

Buyeo National Museum

The essentials

Dates: Permanent galleries closed 28 July – 14 December 2026 (planned) (On now)
Where: Buyeo National Museum, 5 Geumseong-ro, Buyeo-eup, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do
Admission: Free — both the incense burner hall and the children's museum
Booking: No online or group booking. Same-day tickets from the kiosk in the Sabimaru performance hall
Who it is for: All ages
Language: The ticketing kiosk and the signage are Korean. The incense burner hall is a single-object display and needs no language; staff can be reached on 041-830-8423, and will accompany visitors who need assistance if you call ahead.
What is changing: A complete redisplay of the permanent galleries and lobby, the first since 2014
Reopening: Planned for December 2026; the exact date is not announced
Open now: The Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner hall and the children's museum
Entry slots: 9:20am to 5:20pm, every 20 minutes, 25 a day
Capacity: 120 a slot for the incense burner hall, 40 for the children's museum
Enquiries: 041-830-8423

Written up from National Museum of Korea's own announcement of 1 September 2026. Details change — check the official page before you travel.

Buyeo National Museum closed its permanent galleries on 28 July 2026 for a full redisplay, the first since 2014, with reopening planned for 14 December. Until then only the Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner hall and the children's museum are open, both free, on timed entry ticketed from a kiosk on the day. Tickets are issued at the Sabimaru performance hall, not at the galleries.

In short

The permanent galleries closed on 28 July 2026 for a full redisplay and are planned to reopen on 14 December.
The Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner hall and the children's museum stay open, both free.
Entry is by timed slot, every 20 minutes from 9:20am to 5:20pm, 25 slots a day — 120 places a slot for the incense burner, 40 for the children's museum.
Tickets are issued from a kiosk in the Sabimaru performance hall on the day. There is no online booking, and arriving more than ten minutes into your slot means being turned away.

The Baekje gilt-bronze incense burner standing under a single light in an otherwise black room. — The incense burner room on the third floor of the Baekje Great Incense Burner hall — one object, one light, and darkness. Photo: Buyeo National Museum

Buyeo was the last capital of Baekje, and its national museum holds the single most famous object to survive from that kingdom. The museum is in the middle of its first full redisplay since 2014, which means most of it is shut — but the one thing most people come for is not.

Go to the Sabimaru hall first

This is the part to get right. Tickets for both open halls are issued from a kiosk inside the Sabimaru performance hall, not at the halls themselves. Walking to the incense burner hall first means walking back. Tickets are free, released from 9:00am for all of that day's slots, and admit you by scanning a QR code at the gate.

How ticketing works

Price: Free, both halls
Where: The kiosk in the Sabimaru performance hall, for both
Slots: 9:20am to 5:20pm, every 20 minutes, 25 a day
Capacity: 120 a slot at the incense burner hall; 40 at the children's museum
Per person: Up to 20 tickets for the incense burner hall, 5 for the children's museum
Choosing: One slot per hall per visitor
Released: From 9:00am for every slot that day
Arriving late: Entry refused more than 10 minutes into your slot

The object itself

The Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner was excavated in 1993 from a temple site in Buyeo, and it is the kind of object a whole museum can be organised around: a lidded bronze censer nearly two thirds of a metre tall, with a phoenix at the summit, mountains and musicians worked over its dome, and a dragon coiled at the base. It is a National Treasure, and it is the reason to make the trip even with the rest of the building closed.

The whole Baekje gilt-bronze incense burner: a phoenix on the lid, mountain peaks below it, a lotus body and a dragon base. — The Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner (National Treasure, Buyeo 5333) — phoenix, peaked lid, lotus body and dragon base are all one piece. Photo: Buyeo National Museum collection / e-museum · KOGL Type 1 · Original

What is coming in December

The redisplay covers the permanent galleries and the lobby together. Two things are announced: a rebuilt Sabi Baekje gallery, covering the kingdom's final capital period, and an entirely new gallery devoted to the Songgung-ri culture — the Bronze Age settlement pattern that underlies the region long before Baekje. No exact reopening date has been published beyond December.

A permanent gallery stripped of its exhibits, empty and prepared for building work. — The permanent gallery with everything removed — the new Sabi Baekje and Songgukri Culture rooms go in here. Photo: Buyeo National Museum

A stone reliquary case from the Neungsan-ri temple site in Buyeo, a niche cut into its front face. — The stone reliquary case from the Neungsan-ri temple site — a museum object that carries the story of King Wideok's reign. Photo: Buyeo National Museum collection / e-museum · KOGL Type 1 · Original

The same Neungsan-ri stone reliquary case shot upright, showing how deep the niche is cut. — The same reliquary case from another angle — upright, the depth of the niche is easier to see. Photo: Buyeo National Museum

A Bronze Age Liaoning-type bronze dagger with its green patina intact. — A Liaoning-type bronze dagger excavated at the Songgukri site (Bronze Age). Photo: Buyeo National Museum

A Songgukri-type jar with a narrow mouth and a rounded, swelling body. — A Songgukri-type jar, Buyeo 15954 — the narrow mouth and round body are what mark out the Songgukri culture. Photo: Buyeo National Museum collection / e-museum · KOGL Type 1 · Original

Another Songgukri-type jar, slightly different in size and proportion from the one above. — A Songgukri-type jar, Buyeo 15951 — size and proportion vary within the same tradition. Photo: Buyeo National Museum collection / e-museum · KOGL Type 1 · Original

Practical notes

Both open halls are free; no booking exists beyond the same-day kiosk.
Ten minutes' grace on your slot, then entry is refused. Build in time to find the Sabimaru hall.
Call 041-830-8423 ahead if you need assistance; staff will meet and accompany visitors with limited mobility.
If the permanent galleries are what you want, come after mid-December rather than now.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is Buyeo National Museum open?: Partly. The permanent galleries closed on 28 July 2026 for a full redisplay and are planned to reopen on 14 December. The Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner hall and the children's museum remain open, both free.
Q. Can I still see the incense burner?: Yes — that hall is one of the two still open, and it is free. Entry is by timed slot, with 120 places every twenty minutes, ticketed from the kiosk on the day.
Q. How do I get a ticket?: From the kiosk inside the Sabimaru performance hall, for both open halls, from 9:00am on the day for any of that day's slots. There is no online booking and no group booking, and tickets cost nothing.
Q. What if I am late for my slot?: More than ten minutes after it starts, entry is refused. Since tickets are issued at a different building from the halls, allow time to walk between the two.
Q. When do the main galleries reopen?: December 2026, planned for the 14th, with a rebuilt Sabi Baekje gallery and a new gallery on the Songgung-ri culture. The museum has not committed to a precise opening date beyond that.

Sources

Official notice (Korean)

Written in our own words from the sources above, never copied from them, and every date and price checked against at least two pages. The originals are in Korean. Spotted a mistake? Ask for a correction.