Korea Grand Festival: palaces and Jongmyo free — to 15 November

The Korea Grand Festival (코리아 그랜드 페스티벌) folds sales that individual ministries used to run separately into one period, this year from 29 October to 15 November. According to the joint government release of 27 October, issued through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other ministries, about 40,000 companies are taking part. For anyone looking for somewhere to go, the most useful part is not the shopping but the free entry to the palaces, Jongmyo and the royal tombs: until the second week of November, while the autumn colour lasts, you can walk in without a ticket or a booking. This article covers the sightseeing first and the shopping and voucher offers after.

Do you need to sign up for free palace entry?

No. During the festival the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center charges no admission at the four palaces (Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung), Jongmyo and the Joseon royal tombs. Walk past the ticket office and go in. There are two exceptions: each site still closes on its usual weekly closing day, and the Changdeokgung Secret Garden is not part of the free entry, so it still needs its own ticket. The closing days and the Secret Garden booking rules are tabled in our autumn free-admission article.

At Changdeokgung only the palace halls, such as Injeongjeon and Seonjeongjeon, are free. If you want to see the Secret Garden too, get that ticket first; the free entry does not cover it.

Can you get into Jongmyo without booking?

Yes. Jongmyo is normally visited on a timed guided tour, but according to the Center's notice of 21 October it switches to general admission (no booking, free entry) from 29 October to 15 November. Go in when you like and explore on your own, or join one of the guided tours at their set times.

On Saturday 7 November Jongmyo holds Chuhyang Daeje, its autumn ancestral rite: Yeongnyeongjeon from 10:00 to 12:00, then Jeongjeon from 14:00 to 16:30. As it falls in the free general-admission period, simply walk in and watch. Because it is a Saturday there are no foreign-language tours that day. The order of the rite and where to stand are in our Jongmyo Chuhyang Daeje article.

Which royal tombs are free?

All the Joseon royal tombs managed by the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center are free for the same period. From Seolleung and Jeongneung in central Seoul to Yeongneung in Yeoju, where King Sejong is buried, you can walk the wooded paths in autumn colour without paying. Tombs close on different weekdays (Monday or Tuesday), so check the one you plan to visit on our Royal Palaces and Tombs page first.

What else is there besides the palaces?

• 10% off at K-Heritage Stores — 29 October to 15 November, cultural goods at the heritage shops are 10% off. The government release names the shops at Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changdeokgung and Korea House; food, drink and some items are excluded.
• Free concert at the National Theater of Korea's Ssokssokdeuri Festival — Saturday 14 November, 14:00–15:00, a concert by the National Orchestra of Korea (the traditional-instrument orchestra). It is not at the main theatre on Namsan in Seoul but at the National Theater's stage art support centre in Heyri, Paju (16 Heyri-ro, Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju); free tickets are handed out first come, first served on the day from 12:00.
• Accommodation sale coupons — discount coupons for booking domestic accommodation online, bundled into the festival until 8 November.

When do the kimchi-ingredient, beef and seafood discounts end?

Each food sale ends on a different day. The beef sale finishes first; the kimchi-ingredient discount lasts into early December. The dates and rates below are from the joint government release, and the actual discount depends on the shop and the product.

How do the voucher and lottery offers work?

• Digital Onnuri vouchers (the traditional-market gift voucher) — from 2 to 6 November the discount rises from the usual 7% to 10%.
• Local gift vouchers — 5 percentage points added to the discount during the festival (Seoul metropolitan area 8→13%, elsewhere 10→15%, depopulating areas 12→17%). Each local government sets its own dates.
• Win-win spending lottery — from 15 October to 15 November, one entry for every KRW 30,000 paid in Digital Onnuri vouchers. 5,600 winners share KRW 1.7 billion paid in Digital Onnuri vouchers, including ten first prizes of KRW 30 million. Entry is through the Digital Onnuri app.

Getting there, and what works without Korean

The palaces and Jongmyo are all in central Seoul and on the subway: Gyeongbokgung Station (line 3) for Gyeongbokgung, Anguk Station (line 3) for Changdeokgung, City Hall Station (lines 1 and 2) for Deoksugung, and Jongno 3-ga Station (lines 1, 3 and 5) for Jongmyo, with Changgyeonggung a short walk east of Changdeokgung. Seolleung is next to Seolleung Station (line 2). Free entry needs no booking, no form and no Korean phone number: you simply walk in, and the sites carry signage and maps in English. The Jongmyo English tours at 10:00 and 14:00 are the easiest way in for a first visit; there are none on Saturdays, including the day of the rite. Most of the shopping offers are built for residents: the local and Digital Onnuri vouchers and the lottery need Korean apps and identity checks. What a visitor can use is the duty-free sale (up to 25% at 25 duty-free shops nationwide, online ones included) and, according to the government release, welcome events with multilingual tourist information at major airports and ports from 30 October to 15 November, with discounts on portable Wi-Fi and eSIMs and on the AREX airport express train.