Gyeongbokgung Palace: tickets, hanbok entry, guard ceremony and closed days

Gyeongbokgung is the palace on every first-timer’s Seoul list, and the advice about it online is a mix of old fees, hanbok myths and guard-ceremony times that don’t match. The facts are simple once they’re in one place: it’s cheap, it’s closed on Tuesdays, and wearing hanbok gets you in free only if the outfit passes a short checklist at the gate.

The short version

As of October 2026, an adult ticket is 3,000 won (about $2.20), the same price since 2005. Foreign visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and over are free, and so is anyone in proper hanbok, meaning a hanbok top and a hanbok skirt or trousers worn together.

The palace is closed on Tuesdays. It opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. in September and October, 5 p.m. from November to February, with last entry an hour before closing. The guard ceremony is at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the main gates and costs nothing to watch.

Arrive for opening, see the 10 a.m. ceremony on your way in, and give the palace about two hours. The planned fee rise for January 2027 was reported as undecided on October 8, 2026, so don’t rush your trip to beat it.

Tickets, hours and closed days

Opening hours change with the season:

There’s one catch with the age rule. The palace’s own English fee page still lists a 1,500 won youth ticket for ages 7 to 18, but the Korea Herald, reporting on the fee debate in September 2026, lists foreign visitors 18 and under as free. If the ticket office charges a teenager, show the passport and ask.

If you plan to see several palaces, the combination ticket is 10,000 won for adults and covers Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung with its Secret Garden, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo within three months. It only pays off if the Secret Garden is on your list: the five palaces bought one by one come to 9,000 won, and the Secret Garden adds 5,000 won. Some listings quote a different price, so confirm at the ticket office.

Free days, and the fee rise that’s on hold

Gyeongbokgung is busy enough that it’s been left out of a free-entry scheme the other palaces got. In May 2026 the Korea Heritage Service made royal tombs free every Wednesday, then Deoksugung from August and Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo from October. Gyeongbokgung’s turn was put off “for review” because of crowding and safety. It still has the older free day on the last Wednesday of each month, which falls on October 28 this month.

The palaces have also opened free during national events. During the 2025 Korea Grand Festival, from October 29 to November 9, the four main palaces in Seoul and Jongmyo were free. The 2026 festival runs October 29 to November 15, and a blog tracking the official notices reports free palace entry again. Check the palace’s notice page before you count on it.

On fees: the Korea Heritage Service said in August 2026 that palace prices would rise from January 1, 2027, the first change in about 20 years. On October 8, documents submitted to the National Assembly listed the timing as “undecided,” and the heritage service said it would improve rest areas, information desks and accessibility first. The same documents mention a review of free entry for hanbok wearers. Nothing has changed at the gate yet, but check before you rely on it.

Hanbok entry: what counts

Free entry in hanbok is why you’ll see rental shops around Gyeongbokgung and Anguk stations. The palace office’s rules are short:

• A top and a bottom. You need a jeogori (the hanbok jacket) and a hanbok skirt or trousers. Traditional and modern hanbok both count. Most rental sets pass if they include a proper jeogori and skirt or trousers, though officials have said they’re watching heavily altered rental styles.
• No half outfits. A jeogori with jeans, a hanbok skirt with a T-shirt, or a T-shirt-style hanbok won’t get you in free. Neither will an outer robe on its own, like a durumagi.
• Keep it on and closed. The jacket stays on, with its ties or buttons done up, and skirts and trousers have to cover the legs. A jacket so short or open that it shows the chest line can be refused.
• Any gender. Men in women’s hanbok and the reverse have been allowed since July 2019.

Staff judge the outfit at the gate, but carry your passport anyway, since free entry for foreigners can come with an ID check. Since a ticket is only 3,000 won, the free entry alone isn’t a reason to rent. Rent if you want the photos.

The guard ceremony and free English tours

The Royal Guard Changing Ceremony runs at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the courtyards around Gwanghwamun and Heungnyemun, the first two gates. It’s free, outside the ticket line, and may be cancelled in rain. The 2025 schedule also listed two shorter displays, guards on duty at Gwanghwamun at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a public drill at 9:35 a.m. and 1:35 p.m., so check those on the day. A palace guide confirmed the 10 and 2 times on YTN radio in June 2026.

The palace has run free English guided tours at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., starting at the information desk just inside Heungnyemun. Groups under 10 just turn up. Several travel sites give those times, but we couldn’t open an official 2026 schedule, so check the times at the information desk when you arrive.

A route through the palace

Enter through Gwanghwamun, buy your ticket at the ticket office before the second gate, Heungnyemun, where tickets are checked. Then walk north in a straight line, which is how the palace was laid out:

1. Geunjeongjeon, the throne hall. Visitors were kept off its stone platform in April and May 2026 because of crowds, and let back up from June 1.
2. Gyeonghoeru, the pavilion on stilts in the pond, west of the throne hall. It’s the classic photo.
3. The king’s and queen’s quarters behind the throne hall, then north to Hyangwonjeong, the small pavilion on an island at the back.

That loop takes around two hours at a normal pace. The National Palace Museum sits next to the palace by the main gate and is an easy add-on if it rains; since March 2026 it closes on the last Monday of each month. More indoor options are in our rainy day Seoul guide.

The palace is busy. It had about 6.89 million visitors in 2025, nearly half of everyone who visited the four main palaces and Jongmyo. Go early: tour groups build through the morning.

Getting there

• Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3), Exit 5. The closest station, and Exit 5 is the palace exit.
• Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5), Exit 2. Comes up on Gwanghwamun Square, a short walk to the main gate. Enter here if you want to see the guard ceremony from the front.

If you’re driving, the palace has parking at 3,000 won for the first hour for a small car, but central Seoul traffic makes the subway the better choice. For walking directions between the stations and the gate, Naver Map in English works well.

Night viewing

The palace opens at night for a few weeks in spring and autumn, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. with last entry at 8:30 p.m. In 2026 the spring run was May 13 to June 14 and the autumn run September 2 to October 2, both closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets sell online through NOL (Interpark) and go quickly. Foreigners have a separate allocation: 300 same-day tickets a day at the Gwanghwamun ticket office, two per person, with a passport or other valid ID. Night tickets are sold separately from day tickets. If the pattern holds, the next run will be in spring 2027; the 2026 spring tickets went on sale on May 4.

Mistakes that catch visitors out

• Planning a Tuesday. It’s the closed day, and it’s the most common way to lose the palace from an itinerary. Changdeokgung is open on Tuesdays (it closes Mondays), so swap if you have to.
• Arriving after last entry. From November, the gate stops letting people in at 4 p.m.
• Half a hanbok. A rental jacket over jeans pays full price, and a T-shirt-style hanbok from a souvenir shop doesn’t count.
• Missing the ceremony by a few minutes. It’s at 10 and 2, not on the hour every hour. If rain is forecast, don’t build the morning around it.
• Assuming every Wednesday is free. That’s true at the other palaces in late 2026, not at Gyeongbokgung.
• Trusting old fee news. Many articles still say prices rise on January 1, 2027. As of October 2026 that date is not confirmed.

What we’d do

First trip, three or four days in Seoul: go on any day but Tuesday, arrive at 9 a.m., watch the 10 a.m. ceremony, and walk Geunjeongjeon to Gyeonghoeru to Hyangwonjeong before the tour groups build. Then head east into Bukchon, as in our 3 days in Seoul plan.

Want hanbok photos: rent a full set with a proper jeogori and skirt or trousers, and go in the morning or late afternoon when the light is softer and the courtyards are emptier. Treat the free ticket as a small bonus, since it only saves 3,000 won.

Visiting late October or early November: check whether the palaces are free during the Korea Grand Festival (October 29 to November 15), and catch the autumn colors around Hyangwonjeong while you’re there.

Traveling with teenagers: bring their passports. Recent reports list foreign visitors 18 and under as free, and the ticket office may need to see proof.

Seeing several palaces in a short trip: buy single tickets unless the Changdeokgung Secret Garden is on the plan, in which case the 10,000 won combination ticket is worth it.

Questions people ask

Is Gyeongbokgung free if I wear hanbok?

Yes, if you wear both a hanbok top (jeogori) and a hanbok skirt or trousers. Modern hanbok counts, and most rental sets pass if they include both pieces. A hanbok top with jeans, a T-shirt-style hanbok or an outer robe alone doesn't.

What day is Gyeongbokgung closed?

Tuesdays. If a Tuesday is a public holiday, the palace opens that day and closes on the next working day instead.

What time is the changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung?

The Royal Guard Changing Ceremony runs at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. near Heungnyemun and Gwanghwamun gates. It's free to watch and can be cancelled in rain.

How much is Gyeongbokgung entry in 2026?

3,000 won for adults aged 19 to 64. Foreign visitors 18 and under or 65 and over are free. The fee hasn't changed since 2005, and a planned 2027 increase was described as undecided in October 2026.

Is Gyeongbokgung free on Wednesdays?

Not every Wednesday. Other palaces went free every Wednesday in 2026, but Gyeongbokgung was left out because of crowding, and keeps only the older free day on the last Wednesday of the month. Check the month's notice.

How long do you need at Gyeongbokgung?

About two hours for the main halls and the pond pavilion, longer if you add the free English tour or the National Palace Museum next door.

How we checked this

Change log

• October 12, 2026 First published.

Sources

1. Gyeongbokgung Palace (official English site): hours and admission (checked 2026-10-12)
2. Royal Palaces and Tombs Center (Korea Heritage Service): free admission for hanbok wearers (checked 2026-10-12)
3. VisitKorea (Korea Tourism Organization): Gyeongbokgung Palace (checked 2026-10-12)
4. K-Trip Tips (Korea tourism data): Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony (checked 2026-10-12)
5. The Korea Times: Gov't 'undecided' on plan to raise admission fees to royal palaces, tombs (2026-10-08)
6. Seoul Economic Daily: palace admission fee hike likely delayed as heritage agency prioritizes services (2026-10-08)
7. The Korea Herald: admission fees for royal palaces, Joseon tombs to rise from January 2027 (2026-08-07)
8. The Korea Herald: half a Big Mac for a palace ticket? Korea weighs higher admission fees (2026-09-09)
9. Edaily: palaces and royal tombs free every Wednesday, Gyeongbokgung timing under review (2026-05-26)
10. Yonhap (via Daum): fact check on which hanbok gets free palace entry (2026-05-08)
11. YTN Radio: Gyeongbokgung guide on the guard ceremony, night opening and Geunjeongjeon (2026-06-01)
12. NOL (Interpark): 2026 second-half Gyeongbokgung night viewing (checked 2026-10-12)
13. Creatrip: Gyeongbokgung tickets, hours, English tours and night viewing (2026-05-10)
14. Where Are Those Morgans: how to visit Gyeongbokgung (English tours, subway exits) (2025-03-11)
15. Herald Economy: 2025 palace visitor numbers (2026-05-12)
16. Twig24: National Palace Museum adds a monthly closing day (2026-02-08)
17. Korea Grand Festival (official): 2026 festival dates (checked 2026-10-12)
18. Seoul Metropolitan Government Mediahub: Gyeongbokgung free during the 2025 Korea Grand Festival (2025-11-07)
19. Make2T: October 2026 palace free-admission days (blog summary of official notices) (checked 2026-10-12)
20. Wikipedia: Gyeongbokgung station (checked 2026-10-12)

Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.