Places · Palaces · Korea Heritage Service
Royal Palaces and Tombs: hours, closing days and admission
Five Joseon palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and forty royal tombs are run by one authority and share one ticket system. Admission is KRW 1,000 to 3,000, free if you are wearing hanbok, and free if you are 24 or under or 65 or over. The catch is the closing day: Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo shut on Tuesdays, the other three palaces on Mondays.
Hours, closing days and admission, side by side
Checked against each institution's own visitor pages on 2026-09-21. Fees and hours change — follow the official link in the table before you travel.
| Place | Region | Hours | Closed | Admission | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyeongbokgung PalaceRoyal Palaces and Tombs Center · Korea Heritage ServiceNight openings are booked through the integrated reservation site | Seoul | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (Nov–Feb), 6:00 pm (Mar–May, Sep–Oct), 6:30 pm (Jun–Aug); last admission one hour before closing | Tuesdays | KRW 3,000; free if 24 or under, 65 or over, or in hanbok | Official · Book |
| Changdeokgung PalaceRoyal Palaces and Tombs Center · Korea Heritage ServiceThe Secret Garden is capped and booked ahead; the Moonlight Tour is seasonal | Seoul | 9:00 am – 5:30 pm (Nov–Jan), 6:00 pm (Feb–May, Sep–Oct), 6:30 pm (Jun–Aug) | Mondays | KRW 3,000, plus KRW 5,000 for the Secret Garden on a timed booking | Official · Book |
| Deoksugung PalaceRoyal Palaces and Tombs Center · Korea Heritage ServiceBeside City Hall; the Seokjojeon building is visited on a separate booking | Seoul | 9:00 am – 9:00 pm all year (last admission 8:00 pm) | Mondays | KRW 1,000 | Official · Book |
| Changgyeonggung PalaceRoyal Palaces and Tombs Center · Korea Heritage ServiceConnected to Changdeokgung by a gate in the shared wall | Seoul | 9:00 am – 9:00 pm all year (last admission 8:00 pm) | Mondays | KRW 1,000 | Official · Book |
| Jongmyo ShrineRoyal Palaces and Tombs Center · Korea Heritage ServiceRitual ceremony dates are announced on the notices page | Seoul | Free-flow on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; timed guided entry Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday | Tuesdays | KRW 1,000 | Official · Book |
| Royal Tombs of the Joseon DynastyRoyal Palaces and Tombs Center · Korea Heritage ServiceForty tombs across four regional offices — east, central, west and Sejong | Gyeonggi | Varies by tomb, generally 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and shorter in winter | Mondays | Mostly KRW 1,000; some are free | Official · Book |
About Royal Palaces and Tombs
Seoul kept five palaces through the twentieth century, which is more than most former dynastic capitals managed, and they are all within a few subway stops of one another. Gyeongbokgung is the largest and the most reconstructed; Changdeokgung is the best preserved and the one with the garden; Changgyeonggung adjoins it through a gate in the shared wall; Deoksugung is the small one by City Hall with the stone-wall road around it; and Jongmyo, the royal ancestral shrine, is the austere one that most people underrate.
Because a single body under the Korea Heritage Service runs all of them, the practical rules are consistent. One integrated reservation site handles the night openings, Changdeokgung's Secret Garden and the Moonlight Tour. Hanbok gets you in free at all of them. Free guided tours in English, Japanese and Chinese run at each site without booking. The one thing that is not consistent is the weekly closing day, and that is the thing that ruins itineraries.
- Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung connect through a gate in their shared wall, so the two are one visit rather than two.
- Deoksugung stays open until 9pm all year, which makes it the palace to keep for an evening.
Palaces, one by one
Names that link go to our visiting guide; the rest go straight to the institution's own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a day when all the palaces are closed?
No, and that is the useful part. Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo close on Tuesdays while Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung close on Mondays, so on any given day at least three of the five are open. Match the palace to the day rather than the other way round.
Is the combined ticket worth it?
Only if you are going to use it. Individual admissions are KRW 1,000 to 3,000, so the saving is small in absolute terms and it is easy to overestimate how many palaces you will actually get round in the time you have. Two palaces and Jongmyo is a realistic day; four is not.
What is not covered by the hanbok exemption?
Changdeokgung's Secret Garden, which is ticketed separately at KRW 5,000 and runs as a timed guided tour with a capped number of places. Everything else — general admission at the five palaces and Jongmyo — is free in hanbok, which is why rental shops cluster around the palace gates.
Can I visit Jongmyo on a weekday?
Yes, but only with a guide at set times on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; you cannot wander it alone on those days. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it is free-flow. It closes on Tuesdays, like Gyeongbokgung.
Are the royal tombs part of the same thing?
They are — forty of them, under the same authority and mostly the same KRW 1,000 admission, spread around the edge of Seoul and into Gyeonggi-do. They are quiet and green and nothing like the palaces in feel. Treat one as a half-day trip of its own rather than something to squeeze in.
Pages checked: royal.khs.go.kr · royal.khs.go.kr