Can I join the Writing Club if I do not speak Korean?

Realistically, no. The sessions, the discussion and the workshopping are conducted in Korean and the application form is Korean-only. The museum does not run an English-language equivalent, so the Wednesday evening opening and the drop-in Curator's Talk are the parts of the programme that are open to everyone.

Does it cost anything?

No. The Writing Club is free, the Curator's Talk is free, and the permanent galleries are free with no ticket issued. Only separately ticketed special exhibitions charge, and those are optional.

Is it first come, first served?

No, which is unusual. Fifteen places are awarded on the basis of the written application, and everyone is notified individually by text on 2 October. The museum does warn that applications may close early if enough come in.

Which evenings is the museum open late?

Wednesday and Saturday, until 9:00pm, with last admission at 8:30pm. Those are the quietest hours the museum has and the reason to plan a visit around them if your schedule allows.

Programme·National Museum of KoreaOn nowFree

Wednesday nights at the National Museum of Korea: what is open, and what needs Korean

Kang Shin-wookPublished 22 September 2026Updated 5 October 20264 sources checkedEditorial policy 이 글을 한국어로 읽기

Museum visitor information

The essentials

Dates: 14, 21 and 28 October 2026, three consecutive Wednesdays (On now)
Where: National Museum of Korea, permanent galleries and the education wing, Seoul
Admission: Free
Booking: Applications close 5pm on 27 September 2026 through the museum's Korean-language education platform. Fifteen places, chosen from the applications rather than first come. The programme is in Korean
Sign-up period: Until 27 September 2026
Who it is for: Adults; conducted in Korean
Language: The Writing Club is conducted entirely in Korean, and the application form is Korean-only — it is not a programme a non-Korean-speaker can follow. The galleries themselves are labelled in Korean and English, and the museum publishes visitor guides in six languages, so the evening opening is worth the trip whether or not you apply.
Times: 7:00pm to 9:30pm each evening
Places: Fifteen, selected from written applications
Result announced: 2 October 2026, by individual text message
Also on Wednesdays: Curator's Talk, drop-in, no application

Written up from National Museum of Korea's own announcement of 15 September 2026. Details change — check the official page before you travel.

The National Museum of Korea stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and it uses those evenings for programmes. This autumn's NMK Writing Club runs on three October Wednesdays, free, for fifteen people chosen from written applications closing on 27 September — and it is conducted in Korean. The drop-in Curator's Talk on the same evenings needs no application at all.

In short

The museum is open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with last admission at 8:30pm. The permanent galleries are free and need no ticket.
The NMK Writing Club runs 14, 21 and 28 October, 7:00pm to 9:30pm, free, for fifteen adults — and it is conducted in Korean throughout.
Applications close at 5pm on 27 September and are judged on the form rather than taken first come. Results go out by text on 2 October.
The Curator's Talk runs on the same Wednesday evenings with no application at all, which is the accessible option if you are simply in Seoul that night.

The National Museum of Korea lit up at night. — The National Museum of Korea, open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This programme uses those evening hours. Photo: Korea Policy Briefing

Twice a week the National Museum of Korea keeps its galleries open four hours later than usual, and those evenings are the best time to be in the building — the same free collection with a fraction of the weekday crowd. The museum programmes into that slot, and this autumn the headline programme is a three-session writing course. It is worth being clear about what a visitor can and cannot use.

The Writing Club: free, fifteen places, and in Korean

NMK Writing Club runs across three consecutive Wednesday evenings in October, from 7:00pm to 9:30pm, and costs nothing. Each session moves through the same three stages: looking at objects in the permanent galleries with a curator, discussing how different people read the same object, then writing and workshopping the results with a guest essayist. Places are capped at fifteen and awarded on the strength of a written application rather than by speed of clicking.

The official promotional poster for the museum writing programme. — The official poster issued by the museum. Photo: National Museum of Korea · Original

The banner for the museum writing programme on the 'Modu' education platform. — Applications are taken on the programme's page on the 'Modu' education platform (modu.museum.go.kr). Photo: National Museum of Korea · Original

The practical limit for most readers of this page is language. The sessions, the discussion and the workshopping are all in Korean, and so is the application form. This is not a programme that works with partial Korean, and the museum does not offer an English equivalent of it.

Writing Club dates

To 5pm, Sunday 27 September: Applications close. The museum warns it may close earlier if applications reach a cap
Friday 2 October: The fifteen selected applicants are notified individually by text message
Wednesday 14 October, 7:00pm: Session one: looking at the galleries with a curator
Wednesday 21 October, 7:00pm: Session two: discussion and writing
Wednesday 28 October, 7:00pm: Session three: writing and workshop

A Joseon white porcelain moon jar, round-bodied under a milky glaze. — The Treasure white porcelain moon jar (Jeopsu 702), a signature object of the ceramics galleries where the sessions are held. Photo: National Museum of Korea (e-museum) · KOGL Type 1

The session breakdown is our reading, not the museum's

The museum describes the course as moving through viewing, sharing and writing, but does not publish a session-by-session curriculum. The table above lays those three stages against the three dates in order; the actual running order may differ.

What you can do on a Wednesday evening without applying

The Curator's Talk runs on the same evenings, lasts about half an hour, needs no application and costs nothing — you turn up at the stated place and listen. It is in Korean, but it is a drop-in rather than a commitment, and it sits inside a building that is free to walk around until 9pm regardless.

A ten-storey marble pagoda standing in an indoor exhibition space. — The National Treasure ten-storey pagoda from the Gyeongcheonsa site in Kaesong (main 6753). It stands in the permanent gallery lobby, so it is lit and visible in the evening too. Photo: National Museum of Korea (e-museum) · KOGL Type 1

A gilt-bronze bodhisattva seated with one leg over the other knee, fingers against its cheek. — The National Treasure gilt-bronze pensive bodhisattva (main 2789), one of the objects people stand in front of longest in the permanent galleries. Photo: National Museum of Korea (e-museum) · KOGL Type 1

Another gilt-bronze pensive bodhisattva, wearing a three-panelled crown and smiling. — The National Treasure gilt-bronze pensive bodhisattva (Deoksu 3312). Photo: National Museum of Korea (e-museum) · KOGL Type 1

A Goryeo celadon bottle with a melon-shaped body and a fluted foot. — The National Treasure celadon melon-shaped bottle (main 4254). Photo: National Museum of Korea (e-museum) · KOGL Type 1

A Goryeo celadon incense burner with a lid topped by a lion figure. — The National Treasure celadon incense burner with a lion-shaped lid (Kaesong 1). Photo: National Museum of Korea (e-museum) · KOGL Type 1

Writing Club compared with the Curator's Talk

Getting in: Writing Club: apply and be selected, fifteen places. Curator's Talk: turn up
When: Writing Club: three October Wednesdays, 7:00–9:30pm. Curator's Talk: Wednesday evenings, about thirty minutes
Cost: Both free. The permanent galleries are free too; only ticketed special exhibitions charge
Language: Both in Korean
Catch: Writing Club: applications close 27 September. Curator's Talk: topic and location can change

Practical details for the evening

Opening hours: 9:30am to 9:00pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, last admission 8:30pm. Other days it closes at 5:30pm.
Closed on 1 January and on the days of Seollal and Chuseok. In 2026 that includes Friday 25 September.
The permanent galleries are free and issue no ticket. Only ticketed special exhibitions charge.
The outdoor grounds open 7:00am to 10:00pm daily, so the reflecting pool and the stone pagodas are walkable after the galleries close.

The long indoor passage of the National Museum of Korea's Open Plaza under a high ceiling. — The indoor passage through the museum's Open Plaza. Photo: Richard Mortel / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I join the Writing Club if I do not speak Korean?: Realistically, no. The sessions, the discussion and the workshopping are conducted in Korean and the application form is Korean-only. The museum does not run an English-language equivalent, so the Wednesday evening opening and the drop-in Curator's Talk are the parts of the programme that are open to everyone.
Q. Does it cost anything?: No. The Writing Club is free, the Curator's Talk is free, and the permanent galleries are free with no ticket issued. Only separately ticketed special exhibitions charge, and those are optional.
Q. Is it first come, first served?: No, which is unusual. Fifteen places are awarded on the basis of the written application, and everyone is notified individually by text on 2 October. The museum does warn that applications may close early if enough come in.
Q. Which evenings is the museum open late?: Wednesday and Saturday, until 9:00pm, with last admission at 8:30pm. Those are the quietest hours the museum has and the reason to plan a visit around them if your schedule allows.

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.