Seoul palace winter hours — Gyeongbokgung closes at 5pm from November

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center adjusts its opening hours to sunset month by month, and November brings the biggest step. Gyeongbokgung now closes an hour earlier than in October, and Changdeokgung, Jongmyo and the royal tombs half an hour earlier, with the gates shutting to new visitors an hour before closing. Turn up at Gyeongbokgung's ticket office after 4pm, as you might have in summer, and you will be too late. This page gathers each site's winter hours, its closing day, the fees, and the November-only exceptions, from the Center's own hours and fees pages.

Winter hours at each palace and tomb

Each row reads: the months winter hours apply · opening hours · last entry · closing day · adult admission. Staff begin asking visitors to leave 30 minutes before closing time.

When does Gyeongbokgung close?

From November to February Gyeongbokgung is open 9am–5pm, last entry 4pm — an hour earlier than the 6pm closing it kept until October, and its winter timetable lasts a month longer than the other palaces' (Changdeokgung, Jongmyo and the tombs start lengthening their hours in February). It is closed on Tuesdays. With sunset a little after 5pm in December, go in by 2 or 3pm at the latest if you want to see both Geunjeongjeon and Gyeonghoeru without rushing.

How late can you get into Changdeokgung and the Secret Garden?

Changdeokgung's palace buildings are open November to January 9am–5:30pm, last entry 4:30pm, and closed on Mondays. The Secret Garden runs on its own timetable. Korean-language tours leave on the hour from 10am to 3pm from November to February, six a day (seven from March to October, adding 4pm), with 100 places each — 50 sold online and 50 at the gate on the day. English tours leave at 10:30, 11:30, 14:30 and 15:30 until the end of November, then at 10:30, 11:30 and 14:30 from December to February. The garden costs KRW 5,000 on top of the palace ticket (KRW 2,500 for ages 7 to 18).

Which palaces can you visit on a winter evening?

Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung. General admission at both runs 9am–9pm all year, last entry 8pm, so they work after a day's sightseeing. Changgyeonggung comes with some conditions.

• From November to January, visitors still inside at 5:30pm are moved to the evening zone (Honghwamun, Myeongjeongjeon, Tongmyeongjeon, Chundangji pond and the Grand Greenhouse).
• The Grand Greenhouse is open inside in the evening only in November; in December and January it closes to visitors from 6pm.
• The Yulgok-ro gate linking Changgyeonggung to Jongmyo opens on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and every Wednesday, with last entry at 5pm from November to January.
• From Tuesday 10 to Sunday 15 November there is no evening general admission, because of the pre-booked Donggwol Dongnak night programme. Last daytime entry is 4:30pm and the palace closes at 5:30pm. A free English phone audio guide now covers Changgyeonggung — see our guide to it.

Why does Jongmyo work differently depending on the day?

Jongmyo is open November to January 9am–5:30pm (last entry 4:30pm) and closed on Tuesdays. In normal weeks, though, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays are timed-tour days, when you enter only with a guide (Korean tours hourly from 9:20am to 4:20pm October to February, eight a day; English tours at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm), and only Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Wednesdays are free-viewing days, when the Yulgok-ro north gate to Changgyeonggung also opens. During the Korea Grand Festival, to 15 November, Jongmyo is free-viewing every day it opens; the timed-tour pattern returns on 16 November.

Do any royal tombs open at dawn?

Yes. Most Joseon royal tombs are open November to January 9am–5:30pm and closed on Mondays, but some open early: Donggureung in Guri, Jeongneung in Seongbuk-gu and Seolleung and Jeongneung in Gangnam open at 6:30am, and Seooreung in Goyang and Jangneung in Gimpo at 7am (those two have opened at 7am year-round since February 2024). Last entry is 4:30pm everywhere, and Seolleung and Jeongneung's evening opening (to 9pm, March to October) does not run in winter. Seolleung, in the middle of Gangnam, makes an easy early-morning walk.

Avoiding a wasted trip on closing days

Closing days fall on two different weekdays, so on Mondays go to Gyeongbokgung or Jongmyo, and on Tuesdays to Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung or a royal tomb. When a closing day falls on a public holiday the site opens and closes on the next non-holiday instead. There are no public holidays in November 2026, so the weekday rule applies as is.

What do tickets cost, and who gets in free?

Adult individual tickets (19–64 for foreign visitors; 25–64 for Korean nationals) cost KRW 3,000 at Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung and KRW 1,000 at Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Jongmyo and most tombs. The integrated palace ticket, KRW 6,000, covers the four palaces and Jongmyo for six months from purchase (not the Secret Garden) and is sold at the four palaces' and Jongmyo's ticket offices.

• Free (bring proof) — foreign visitors aged 18 or under or 65 and over; Korean nationals 24 or under or 65 and over; anyone wearing hanbok; registered disabled visitors (with one companion for severe disability); pregnant women with one companion; parents with a multi-child family card; national merit recipients.
• Discounts — group rates for 10 or more; 50% off for residents of the local district where the site stands (not combinable).
• Changdeokgung Secret Garden — free entry is narrower: children 6 and under, and Korean national merit recipients and disabled visitors. No group discount.
• Culture Day, every Wednesday — free Wednesdays have been extended in stages to the royal tombs (from 27 May), Deoksugung (from 5 August) and Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo (from 7 October). Gyeongbokgung and the Secret Garden are not yet included; Gyeongbokgung is listed as "to be extended".

November-only exceptions

• Thursday 29 October – Sunday 15 November, Korea Grand Festival — the four palaces, Jongmyo and the royal tombs are free (except on closing days and for the Changdeokgung Secret Garden special tours). Jongmyo is free-viewing every day it opens, and the regular guided talks at Gyeongbokgung and Chilgung are cut by 30 minutes. More in our free-admission guide.
• Saturday 7 November, Jongmyo autumn rite — Yeongnyeongjeon 10am–12pm, Jeongjeon 2pm–4:30pm; free and no booking (details).
• Tuesday 10 – Sunday 15 November, no evening admission at Changgyeonggung — last daytime entry 4:30pm, closing 5:30pm.

For winter palace visits, remember three times — Gyeongbokgung 5pm, Changdeokgung, Jongmyo and the tombs 5:30pm, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung 9pm — and that entry stops an hour earlier, then check the Monday or Tuesday closure. Until 15 November it is all free, which makes it a good time to try the new timetable.

Getting there and what to expect on the day

The five Seoul sites are all on the subway: Gyeongbokgung Station (line 3) for Gyeongbokgung, Anguk (line 3) for Changdeokgung, City Hall (lines 1 and 2) for Deoksugung, Jongno 3-ga (lines 1, 3 and 5) for Jongmyo, and Hyehwa (line 4) or a walk through the Yulgok-ro gate from Jongmyo for Changgyeonggung. Ordinary tickets are sold at the gate and take foreign cards; nothing but the Secret Garden, Chilgung and Jongmyo's timed tours needs booking, and English tours at Changdeokgung and Jongmyo run at the times listed on each site's guided-tour page. Site maps and the main information panels carry English. The royal tombs outside Seoul — Donggureung, Seooreung, Gimpo's Jangneung — need a bus or taxi from the nearest subway station; Seolleung (Seolleung Station, line 2) and Seoul's Jeongneung are the easy ones. Winter afternoons are short and cold, so plan the outdoor palaces for the morning and keep Deoksugung or Changgyeonggung for the evening.