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Event·National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, KoreaEndedFree

MMCA is free across the Chuseok weekend, 24 to 27 September

Kang Shin-wookPublished 22 September 2026Updated 21 September 20267 sources checkedEditorial policy이 글을 한국어로 읽기
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Summary

All four MMCA buildings open over the Chuseok holiday and charge nothing from 24 to 27 September 2026. Seoul closes on Chuseok day itself, Friday 25 September, so it gives three days rather than four; Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju open all four. Gallery talks are suspended from 24 to 26 September, and Deoksugung still needs a palace ticket on top.

Article

In short

  • All four MMCA buildings are free from 24 to 27 September 2026, over the Chuseok holiday weekend.
  • Seoul closes on Chuseok day itself, Friday 25 September, so it offers three of the four days. The other three buildings open throughout.
  • Saturday 26 September runs late at Seoul and Deoksugung, to 9:00pm.
  • Gallery talks are suspended from 24 to 26 September. Deoksugung still needs the KRW 1,000 palace ticket on top of the free museum entry.
The stone facade and colonnade of MMCA Deoksugung, in the west wing of Seokjojeon.
MMCA Deoksugung, which occupies the west wing of Seokjojeon inside Deoksugung. It opens on all four days of the holiday. Photo: Shene81 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Chuseok is the point in the year when a visitor to Korea is most likely to find things shut. MMCA goes the other way: it opens across the holiday and drops admission at all four of its buildings. If you are in Seoul over that weekend with an afternoon to fill, this is the single best-value thing available.

Which building, which day, which hours

Opening across the holiday

Seoul
Open 24, 26 and 27 September. Thursday and Sunday 10:00am–6:00pm, Saturday 10:00am–9:00pm. Closed Friday 25, Chuseok day
Gwacheon
Open all four days, 10:00am–6:00pm
Deoksugung
Open all four days. Thursday, Friday and Sunday 10:00am–6:00pm, Saturday 10:00am–9:00pm. The palace gate stops admitting at 8:00pm
Cheongju
Open all four days, 10:00am–6:00pm, last admission 5:00pm
The sign wall and entrance at the front of MMCA Seoul.
The front of MMCA Seoul. Of the four buildings, this is the only one shut on Chuseok day itself. Photo: Bonnielou2013 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The courtyard of MMCA Seoul, with the glass exhibition block, the Jongchinbu hanok and Bugaksan all in one view.
The MMCA Seoul courtyard: the glass exhibition block, the Jongchinbu hanok and the line of Bugaksan together. Photo: jens kuu / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Gyeongeundang of the former Jongchinbu in the MMCA Seoul grounds: a tiled-roof hanok and its yard.
Gyeongeundang of the Jongchinbu, still standing in the MMCA Seoul grounds — you cross the hanok yard on the way in. Photo: Jjw / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The exterior of the main building at MMCA Gwacheon, with its circular ramp core and the forecourt.
MMCA Gwacheon, where 'Road Movie' closes on the 27th. It shuts at 6pm on all four days. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · Original
The exterior of MMCA Cheongju, a red-brick building converted from a former tobacco factory.
MMCA Cheongju, an open-storage museum in a converted tobacco factory. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · Original
The exterior of MMCA Deoksugung and the courtyard in front of it.
MMCA Deoksugung from outside. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · Original

What the free entry is actually worth

Normal adult admission

Seoul
KRW 10,000 combined ticket, or KRW 12,000 buying the three current exhibitions separately
Gwacheon
KRW 3,000, covering everything there
Deoksugung
KRW 2,000, plus KRW 1,000 palace admission, which is still charged
Cheongju
KRW 2,000 for the fifth-floor special exhibition; the open storage on floors one to four is always free
Total
KRW 17,000 on the combined ticket, or KRW 19,000 buying separately — excluding the palace

Two things to watch

  • Gallery talks do not run from 24 to 26 September. The free audio guide in MMCA's own app is the substitute, and it is worth downloading before you arrive.
  • Deoksugung is inside a palace. The museum is free, the palace is not, so you still pay KRW 1,000 at the palace gate — or nothing, if you are in hanbok, or 24 and under, or 65 and over.
  • Monday 28 September is not a substitute holiday, so Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju close as they normally do on a Monday. Seoul opens.
  • No booking is required at any of them. Online booking exists but is optional.
Daehanmun, the main gate of Deoksugung, with its two-storey gatehouse and tiled roof.
Daehanmun at Deoksugung. To reach MMCA Deoksugung you pass through this gate into the palace, and the palace ticket is separate from the museum's. Photo: revi / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 KR
The ground-floor entrance of MMCA Cheongju, the museum's name above a revolving glass door.
The ground-floor entrance at MMCA Cheongju. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · Original
The information and ticket desk on the ground floor of MMCA Cheongju: a black counter, an information display and a barrier post.
The information and ticket desk at MMCA Cheongju. During the free period this is the quickest place to check what, if anything, you have to collect. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · Original
The wide open-air car park at the Culture Factory complex used by MMCA Cheongju.
The Culture Factory car park used by MMCA Cheongju. The first two hours are free, which makes parking easiest here of the four. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · Original

If you only have one of the four days

Make it Saturday 26 September. Seoul and Deoksugung both run to 9:00pm that day, the two buildings are a short journey apart, and the free art shuttle does not run at weekends — so a Saturday plan should use the subway and pick two buildings rather than three.

The front of MMCA Deoksugung and the fountain before it on a clear day.
The front of MMCA Deoksugung and its fountain on a clear day. Photo: korea.net (KOCIS) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is MMCA open over Chuseok?
Yes, all four buildings, from 24 to 27 September 2026 — with one exception: the Seoul building closes on Chuseok day itself, Friday 25 September. Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju open all four days.
Q. How much does it cost over the holiday?
Nothing at any of the four buildings. Normally that would be KRW 17,000 across all four on the combined Seoul ticket. The one thing still charged is Deoksugung palace admission at KRW 1,000, which is separate from the museum.
Q. Is Deoksugung completely free then?
The museum is; the palace is not. MMCA Deoksugung sits inside Deoksugung Palace, so you pay the KRW 1,000 palace admission to reach it — unless you are wearing hanbok, or are 24 or under or 65 or over, in which case the palace is free too.
Q. Can I get a guided tour?
Not from 24 to 26 September — gallery talks are suspended for those three days. The free audio guide in MMCA's own app covers the same ground and is worth downloading before you set out.
Q. Do I need to book?
No. Booking is optional over the holiday rather than required, so you can simply turn up at any of the four buildings during opening hours.

Sources

  1. Official notice (Korean)
  2. Official page (Korean)
  3. Official page (Korean)
  4. Official page (Korean)
  5. Official page (Korean)
  6. Official page (Korean)
  7. Official page (Korean)
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.

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