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Seoul royal palace admission fees: Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
An adult foreign visitor pays ₩3,000 at Gyeongbokgung, ₩3,000 at Changdeokgung (halls) plus ₩5,000 more for the Secret Garden, ₩1,000 at Changgyeonggung, ₩1,000 at Deoksugung and ₩1,000 at Jongmyo. A six-month integrated ticket for the four palaces and Jongmyo costs ₩6,000. Foreign visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and over enter free, and so does anyone, Korean or foreign, who wears hanbok that meets the official guideline. Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo close on Tuesdays; the other three palaces close on Mondays.
Admission fees compared
| Site | Ticket | Individual | Group of 10+ | Closed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyeongbokgung | Adult | 3,000 | 2,400 | Tuesday |
| Changdeokgung | Halls, adult | 3,000 | 2,400 | Monday |
| Secret Garden, adult (19 to 64) | 5,000 | 5,000 | ||
| Secret Garden, age 65 and over | 5,000 | 5,000 | ||
| Secret Garden, age 7 to 18 | 2,500 | 2,500 | ||
| Changgyeonggung | Adult | 1,000 | 800 | Monday |
| Deoksugung | Adult | 1,000 | 800 | Monday |
| Jongmyo | Adult | 1,000 | 1,000 | Tuesday |
- Who is an adult: for foreigners the adult band is age 19 to 64; for Koreans it is age 25 to 64 (Koreans aged 24 and under are free).
- Secret Garden: the page notes that you must also buy the hall ticket for Changdeokgung, there is no group discount for the garden, and the garden has its own list of free-entry people: age 6 and under, and Korean citizens who are persons of national merit or registered as disabled. Hanbok wearers and the over-65 free rule are not in that list.
- Deoksugung: the art museum is a separate ticket from the palace ticket.
- Group rate applies to 10 or more people (not the Secret Garden).
Free entry for foreign visitors
- Age 18 and under, or 65 and over (foreigners). The page requires proof for every free category, so carry a passport or ID that shows your age.
- Anyone wearing hanbok, Korean or foreign. The Q&A on the official page says that foreigners in hanbok count as free-entry visitors. The guideline (below) says what qualifies.
- Pregnant women and one companion; registered disabled visitors (a severe disability, grades 1 to 3, includes one escort; grades 4 to 6 the person only); people with a licence who lead group tours as a licensed tourist guide or cultural tour guide; and several other official categories. The page requires proof for every free-entry category.
What counts as hanbok
- Both traditional hanbok and modern "everyday" hanbok count.
- You need both a top (jeogori) and a bottom (skirt or trousers). A durumagi (overcoat) alone does not count.
- The top must keep the crossover collar; the ribbon or knot style does not matter. A T-shirt-style top is not accepted.
- Jeans with only a jeogori, or hanbok bottoms with a T-shirt, are not free entry.
- The guideline asks for hanbok that suits the dignity of the palace, with no excessive exposure.
Free entry and cost checker
The checker uses only the rules on the official fee page for foreign visitors: the individual and group fees in the table, free entry for ages 18 and under and 65 and over, free entry in qualifying hanbok, the Secret Garden fees and its own free list, and the ₩6,000 integrated ticket. It does not apply the Wednesday "Culture Day" rule (the official pages disagree, see below), local-resident discounts, or other free categories such as pregnancy or disability. Closing days are not checked.
Integrated ticket
| Item | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| Price | ₩6,000 |
| Covers | The four palaces and Jongmyo, not the Changdeokgung Secret Garden |
| Validity | Six months from the purchase date; the page prints "one time within 6 months" and does not say per site, so ask the ticket office how it is counted |
| Where to buy | Ticket offices at the four palaces and Jongmyo |
| Refund | Only at the palace where it was bought, and not if any part of the ticket has been torn off |
Adding up the five individual adult fees gives ₩3,000 + ₩3,000 + ₩1,000 + ₩1,000 + ₩1,000 = ₩9,000 (derived arithmetic), so the ₩6,000 integrated ticket is ₩3,000 cheaper if you really visit all five. Visiting only Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung costs ₩6,000 separately, the same as the integrated ticket.
Secret Garden: timed guided entry
The garden is a restricted, timed visit. The official page lists the following start times and rules:
| Language | Months | Start times |
|---|---|---|
| English | December to February | 10:30, 11:30, 14:30 |
| English | March to November | 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 |
| Japanese | January to December (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) | 13:30 |
| Chinese | January to December (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) | 12:30 |
- Each language session is limited to 100 people: 50 can book online and 50 buy on site. Online booking opens at 10:00 six days before the visit and runs until one day before; on-site sales begin at 09:00 on the day, first come first served.
- Koreans cannot join a foreigners' time slot, except that up to 2 Koreans may enter with a foreign companion.
- The page warns that online and on-site tickets sell out very quickly in April to May and October to November.
Opening hours and closing days
| Site | Hours | Last entry |
|---|---|---|
| Gyeongbokgung | Jan to Feb and Nov to Dec 09:00 to 17:00; Mar to May and Sep to Oct 09:00 to 18:00; Jun to Aug 09:00 to 18:30 | One hour before closing |
| Changdeokgung | Feb to May and Sep to Oct 09:00 to 18:00; Jun to Aug 09:00 to 18:30; Nov to Jan 09:00 to 17:30 | One hour before closing |
| Changgyeonggung | 09:00 to 21:00 all year (general) | 20:00 |
| Deoksugung | 09:00 to 21:00 all year | 20:00 |
| Jongmyo | Free-roaming on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Wednesdays; guided timed visits on Monday, Thursday and Friday (about 50 minutes; English tours at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00) | See the page |
Monday closures: Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung. Tuesday closures: Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo. If a closing day falls on a public holiday or substitute holiday, the site opens and the next non-holiday day becomes the closing day.
Where the official pages disagree
| Topic | Fee page | Hours page |
|---|---|---|
| "Culture Day" Wednesday | Lists "every Wednesday, Culture Day (except Gyeongbokgung and the Changdeokgung garden)" among the free-entry categories | Gives "the last Wednesday of every month" as Culture Day for Changgyeonggung, and "every Wednesday" for Jongmyo free-roaming days |
So it is not clear from the two pages whether every Wednesday is free at the palaces other than Gyeongbokgung. Ask at the ticket office on the day (the site footer lists each palace office's phone number, for example 02-3700-3900 for Gyeongbokgung) before planning a day around it; the checker above does not assume it.
Common questions
Is Gyeongbokgung really only ₩3,000?
Yes, ₩3,000 per adult for an individual ticket and ₩2,400 per person in a group of 10 or more, with the same figure for foreigners and Koreans.
Can I use a Discover Seoul Pass?
See our Discover Seoul Pass page; Gyeongbokgung admission appears in its sample itinerary.
The fee page prints no revision date; it was read on 2026-10-19. Not covered here: royal tombs, local-resident 50% discounts, Korean-only free categories, shrine and museum extras, and the guided-tour booking steps.
Official sources
- Korea Heritage Service Royal Palaces and Tombs Center — admission fees — fee table by site, free-entry categories, integrated ticket and other special tickets; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Royal Palaces and Tombs Center — opening hours — closing days, seasonal hours, Jongmyo timed tours, Changdeokgung Secret Garden times and rules; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Royal Palaces and Tombs Center — hanbok free-entry guideline — what counts as hanbok for free entry, and the Q&A saying foreigners in hanbok qualify (the English-language fee page at /ENG/contents/R703000000.do carries the same Korean table) (checked 2026-10-19)
Prices change. If an official page shows a different number from this page, the official page wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.