Seoul's palaces, Jongmyo and royal tombs free — 29 Oct to 15 Nov 2026

The Korea Heritage Service's Royal Palaces and Tombs Center announced on 30 September that it will open every palace, Jongmyo Shrine and the Joseon royal tombs free of charge from 29 October to 15 November, to coincide with the Korea Grand Festival, an autumn tourism campaign. It is a temporary measure that includes Gyeongbokgung, normally KRW 3,000, and in a typical year it falls on the weeks when the leaves are at their best. Closing days and the Changdeokgung Secret Garden are the exceptions, so which site you visit on which day still matters.

Separately, free Wednesdays (the government's 'Culture Day') have been widened in stages this year, and since 7 October they cover Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo every week. Gyeongbokgung is still left out of the Wednesday scheme, which makes this period the longest stretch in which it is free.

When and where is it free?

The Center's notice lists the scope as 'the four palaces, Jongmyo and the royal tombs (every site we run)', with two remarks: Jongmyo switches to general admission, and the Secret Garden and closing days are excluded. There are no public holidays in the period, so each site loses its two regular closing days and is free on 16 of the 18 days.

Gyeongbokgung moves to winter hours in November and closes an hour earlier. Only the first three days of the period (29–31 October) run until 18:00, so those are the evenings to choose if you want to go after work.

Gyeongbokgung has the highest regular fee and is excluded from free Wednesdays, so it is where the free period makes the biggest difference. Guided-tour schedules may change during the period; if you want a tour, check with the Gyeongbokgung office (+82-2-3700-3900) before you go.

Why is the Changdeokgung Secret Garden not free?

The Secret Garden (Huwon) is a special-viewing area entered in limited groups at set times with a guide, to protect the garden, and it was excluded from the free period from the outset. You still need a Secret Garden ticket (KRW 5,000 for adults), and the fees page says you also need a Changdeokgung palace ticket to enter it. The palace grounds themselves are free during the period, so in practice you pay only for the garden.

Secret Garden tickets are sold online, first come first served, from 10:00 six days before the visit until the day before; the rest go on sale at the gate from 09:00 on the day. The Center warns that in April–May and October–November both the online and the on-site tickets sell out very quickly, and this year's free period lands in early November, so move fast.

How do you get into Jongmyo during the period?

Jongmyo normally runs timed visits on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, when you enter at set times behind a guide (200 per slot: 100 booked online, 100 sold on site). During the free period it switches to general admission, so you can walk in and look around at your own pace on any open day. Jongmyo closes on Tuesdays — 3 and 10 November — which is easy to confuse with the palaces that close on Mondays.

How is it different from free Wednesdays?

There are two ways to skip the admission fee. This free period includes Gyeongbokgung but ends on 15 November; free Wednesdays carry on indefinitely but leave out Gyeongbokgung and the Secret Garden.

Free Wednesdays used to apply only to the last Wednesday of each month. After the government extended Culture Day to every Wednesday, the Center added sites one by one, starting with the royal tombs in May; it said it would decide separately when to add Gyeongbokgung, citing crowding and safety.

How much does it actually save?

An adult buying separate tickets for the four palaces and Jongmyo pays KRW 9,000 (KRW 3,000 each for Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, KRW 1,000 each for Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo); the combined palace pass for all five (Secret Garden excluded) is KRW 6,000. Most royal tombs are KRW 1,000. Koreans aged 24 and under or 65 and over, and anyone wearing hanbok, already get in free, so the people who really save are Korean adults aged 25–64 and foreign visitors aged 19–64.

Where are the best autumn colours?

In its autumn press releases from 2020 to 2023, the Center said the leaves at the palaces and tombs usually peak between late October and early November. There is no official foliage forecast for the sites this year, but if the usual pattern holds the free period will coincide with the peak. All the photos below come from earlier press releases.

Changgyeonggung — the walk around Chundangji pond is its best-known autumn route, and the palace stays open until 21:00 in November, which makes it good for a dusk stroll. From 10 to 15 November, though, general visits end at 17:30 while the Donggwol Dongnak night programme runs.

Deoksugung — the path from Daehanmun, the main gate, to Junghwamun is carpeted with ginkgo leaves, and the pond inside the palace is worth a look too. Deoksugung also stays open until 21:00. Dondeokjeon is closed on both floors until 1 November for an exhibition change, worth knowing if you go early in the period.

Joseon royal tombs — the tombs around Seoul mostly open at 09:00 and close at 17:30, and the hours page lists separate early-morning opening at some of them, including Seooreung in Goyang and Jangneung in Gimpo. Seooreung, Samneung in Paju, Yeongneung and Nyeongneung in Yeoju and Jangneung in Gimpo, all with long woodland walks, are the ones earlier foliage releases featured most.

Yeongneung and Nyeongneung in Yeoju are normally KRW 500, the cheapest of the royal tombs, and they are free during the period as well.

Getting there and what to expect on the day

The Seoul sites are all on the subway. For Gyeongbokgung, take Line 3 to Gyeongbokgung Station; for Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo, Line 3 to Anguk Station and walk; for Deoksugung, Line 1 or 2 to City Hall Station, whose exit opens near Daehanmun. Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung share a wall, so they make one walk. Entry is a walk-up at the gate with no ticket to show during the period, and the Center publishes admission and hours in English and runs free English guided tours at the palaces and Jongmyo, so not reading Korean is no barrier. The one thing to plan is the Secret Garden. Its online booking runs through the Center's Korean-language reservation site, and the notices do not say whether it accepts a foreign phone number. If it will not take your details, queue at the Changdeokgung gate before 09:00, when the on-site tickets go on sale. The English tours in the garden run at 10:30, 11:30, 14:30 and 15:30 until the end of November. The royal tombs are outside central Seoul and mostly need a bus or taxi from the nearest station.