The short version
The age for free entry depends on which passport you hold, and the combined ticket does not cover the rear garden at Changdeokgung. That garden runs separate sessions with separate quotas for each language, and Jongmyo cannot be walked into on a weekday without a reservation. Even the closing days split between Monday and Tuesday.
Deadlines that matter
Online booking for the Changdeokgung rear garden
By when: Opens at 10:00 six days before your visit, not counting the visit day itself, and closes the day before. First come, first served.
If you miss it: Try the on-site tickets sold from 09:00 on the day, also first come, first served. Each session splits its quota 50 online and 50 at the gate.
Paying for a rear garden reservation
By when: Within 24 hours of booking. If you booked the day before your visit, you have until 23:59 that same day.
If you miss it: The reservation cancels itself. Credit and debit cards only; no bank transfers.
Weekday timed-entry booking for Jongmyo
By when: Opens 30 days before your chosen day and closes four days before.
If you miss it: Go on a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or Culture Day, when you can walk in without a reservation.
Right now
- 1Closing days split two ways. Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung close on Monday; Jongmyo and Gyeongbokgung close on Tuesday. Which day you are in Seoul decides half of where you can go.
- 2The combined ticket is 6,000 won and stays valid for six months from the day you buy it. It is sold at the ticket offices of the four palaces and Jongmyo, and it covers exactly those places. The rear garden at Changdeokgung is not among them.
- 3Wearing hanbok gets you in free. Both traditional and modern everyday hanbok count, and you need a top and a bottom. A durumagi overcoat on its own does not qualify. Entry is also free on Culture Day, the last Wednesday of every month.
Getting there
Incheon Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 2
From either terminal, take the Airport Railroad from the transportation center on basement level 1 to its last stop, Seoul Station. Change to Line 1 toward Soyosan or Cheongnyangni and get off at Jongno 3(sam)-ga; Jongmyo is a five minute walk from there. For Changdeokgung, change again at the same station to Line 3 toward Daehwa and ride one stop to Anguk.
- How long:
- The all-stop Airport Railroad train reaches Seoul Station in 59 minutes from Terminal 1 and 66 minutes from Terminal 2. Add roughly 30 more minutes for the subway leg.
The express train takes 43 minutes from Terminal 1 and 51 minutes from Terminal 2. Either way you change to Line 1 at Seoul Station.
Seoul Station (KTX and Airport Railroad arrivals)
Line 1 toward Soyosan or Cheongnyangni, three stops to Jongno 3(sam)-ga. If Deoksugung is all you want, skip the change: get off two stops along at City Hall and take exit 2, a two minute walk.
- How long:
- About 10 minutes to Jongno 3(sam)-ga, about 5 minutes to City Hall.
Jongno 3(sam)-ga is where Lines 1, 3 and 5 overlap, so the transfer corridors are long. Allow a few minutes just for the change.
Gimpo Airport
Line 5 from Gimpo International Airport runs to Gwanghwamun with no change. Deoksugung is a ten minute walk from exit 6 or exit 2. For Changdeokgung and Jongmyo, ride one stop further to Jongno 3(sam)-ga.
Gimpo Airport is a large interchange. Check the Line 5 platform signs before you pass through the gates.
Coming by bus
For Changdeokgung, get off at Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater (blue 109, 151, 162, 171, 172, 272, 710; green 7025). For Jongmyo, use the Jongno 4(sa)-ga, Jongmyo stop in the median lane toward Jongno 3(sam)-ga (blue 101, 103, 143, 150, 201, 260, 262, 270, 271, 370, 720, 721; green 7212; express 9301). For Changgyeonggung, use the Seoul National University Hospital stop in the median lane toward Jongno, or the Changgyeonggung, Seoul National University Hospital stop. For Deoksugung, use the City Hall, Deoksugung stop or the Seoul Shinmun stop.
Each stop is named after the place itself, so the name works as-is in a map app.
What to have ready
- Passport: Ticket offices may check it for the foreigner free-entry ages and for the foreigner sessions in the rear garden.
- Transit card: All four are reachable by subway. Buses stop closer to Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung.
- A payment card: Online booking for the rear garden takes credit and debit cards only.
Phrases you can copy and paste
Step by step
The route on a map
- 1
Changdeokgung
- Where:
- Line 3 Anguk, exit 3, five minutes on foot, or Line 1, 3, 5 Jongno 3(sam)-ga, exit 7, ten minutes
- Cost:
- Palace grounds 3,000 won for adults (2,400 won in a group). The rear garden is a separate 5,000 won for adults and seniors, 2,500 won for ages 7 to 18
You need two tickets here. One covers the halls inside Donhwamun gate, the other covers the guided walk through the rear garden behind the wall. A rear garden ticket alone will not get you in: the ticket that carries you through the gate is the palace grounds ticket, so after booking the garden you still buy the grounds ticket separately. Closing time moves with the season. February through May and September to October it closes at 18:00, June through August at 18:30, November through January at 17:30. Last entry is always an hour before closing. Closed Mondays.
99 Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 2
Jongmyo
- Where:
- Line 1, 3, 5 Jongno 3(sam)-ga, exit 11 or exit 8, five minutes on foot
- Cost:
- 1,000 won for adults. Included in the combined ticket
Check the day of the week first. This is the cheapest of the four, but it is not a place you can walk into whenever you like. On Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Culture Day you can go in without a reservation. On any other day you need a timed-entry booking, and that window opens 30 days before your chosen day and closes four days before. Standing at the gate on a Wednesday morning leaves you nothing to do on the spot. Closed Tuesdays, and closing time shifts with the season between 18:00, 18:30 and 17:30.
157 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 3
Changgyeonggung
- Where:
- Line 4 Hyehwa, exit 4, about twelve minutes on foot, or the Seoul National University Hospital stop in the Jongno median lane
- Cost:
- 1,000 won for adults (800 won in a group). Included in the combined ticket
Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung are the two that stay open into the night. All year round they open at 09:00 and close at 21:00, with last entry at 20:00, so if you want to walk a palace after dark you are choosing between these two. Closed Mondays.
185 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 4
Deoksugung
- Where:
- Line 1, 2 City Hall, exit 2, two minutes on foot, or Line 5 Gwanghwamun, exit 6 or exit 2, ten minutes
- Cost:
- 1,000 won for adults (800 won in a group). Included in the combined ticket
It sits right outside City Hall exit 2, which makes it the easiest of the four to find. Hours and prices match Changgyeonggung: open 09:00 to 21:00 with last entry at 20:00, 1,000 won for adults and 800 won in a group. Closed Mondays.
99 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
The Korean words
- 후원huwon, the rear garden of Changdeokgung
- The garden behind the palace wall. English signage calls it the Secret Garden.
- 전각관람jeongak gwallam, general palace tour
- The ticket for the palace buildings. At Changdeokgung this is what gets you through the gate.
- 통합관람권tonghap gwallamgwon, combined palace ticket
- One ticket for the four palaces and Jongmyo. The Changdeokgung rear garden is not included.
- 자유관람jayu gwallam, walk-in visit
- Buying a ticket and going in, no reservation. At Jongmyo this works only on set days.
- 휴관일hyugwanil, closed day
- The weekly closing day. When it falls on a public holiday the site opens and closes the following day instead.
Easy to miss
- The most common way to lose a morning is to buy the combined ticket, assume it covers the rear garden, and be turned around at the Changdeokgung window. It covers the four palaces and Jongmyo, and the rear garden sits outside that.
- The age for free entry depends on your passport. Korean nationals go free at 24 and under or 65 and over with ID; foreign visitors at 18 and under or 65 and over. A 20 year old Korean walks in and a 20 year old foreigner buys a ticket.
- The Korean-language booking pages do not take credit cards issued outside Korea. The account ID there is your own mobile number, and booking texts are not sent to overseas numbers. Switch to English at the top right and an e-mail address becomes the ID instead.
- Rear garden sessions are scheduled by language. English runs at 10:30, 11:30 and 14:30 from December through February, with 15:30 added from March through November. Japanese runs Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 13:30; Chinese runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 12:30.
- Korean nationals cannot book the foreigner sessions. With a foreign companion, up to two Korean nationals may join. One person may book five rear garden tickets in a day.
You can skip this if
- If Gyeongbokgung is the only one you plan to see, this is not your guide. Gyeongbokgung is covered in §Seoul's top sights.
- If you mean to see all four in one day, drop the rear garden first. It runs as a scheduled guided walk you have to gather for, which means the rest of the day bends around that hour.
Where this comes from
- Admission fees and free entry (Korea Heritage Service, Royal Palaces and Tombs Center)
- Opening hours and rear garden tour times (Korea Heritage Service)
- Reservations by palace (Korea Heritage Service)
- Free entry in hanbok (Korea Heritage Service)
- Addresses and directions (Korea Heritage Service)
- Changdeokgung booking site (the ticketing site the official page links to)
Rules, fees and deadlines change and depend on your exact case. Please confirm the details with the official sources before you act.