Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung or Deoksugung: hours, closures and tickets

General admission compared

Individual ordinary fees: Korean nationals 25–64; foreign nationals 19–64. General admission is free for Korean nationals 24 or younger and 65+, foreign nationals 18 or younger and 65+. Garden exceptions differ; bring proof. Prices checked 2026-10-09.

Choose the visit time and closure day before comparing fees. Palace grounds, gardens, exhibition buildings and special night events can have different tickets and schedules. The table compares ordinary individual admission; it does not show live seats or special-event availability.

Official seasonal hours

Official fees / garden booking

October entry and closing times

Deoksugung’s ordinary grounds visit runs 09:00–21:00, with last entry 20:00. Seokjojeon and Dondeokjeon interiors do not stay open merely because the grounds do. Under the usual weekly rule, Gyeongbokgung is the Monday candidate; Changdeokgung or Deoksugung are Tuesday candidates.

If a regular closure coincides with a public or substitute holiday, the palace opens and closes on the next first non-holiday. Match the actual visit date with official notices. In September/October, Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung close 18:00, entry 17:00; arriving 18:00 is too late for ordinary admission.

Changdeokgung garden reservations

Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden (후원, Huwon) is timed, capacity-limited admission, not unrestricted access on a palace-building ticket. You need the garden ticket and the palace-building ticket; general free-entry categories still need the applicable ticket/proof process. The garden costs 5,000 KRW for ages 19–64 and 65+, or 2,500 KRW for ages 7–18, separate from paid building admission when applicable.

The official guide opens online garden booking at 10:00 Korean time six days before the visit, until the day before. Same-day first-come sales start 09:00. Select the date and language/session on the official booking site; availability is not guaranteed, especially in the listed busy April/May and October/November periods. Gyeongbokgung night events and Deoksugung Seokjojeon guided visits use separate announcements/reservations.

Official fees / garden booking

Family admission costs

Family costs and a rainy-day visit

A family member aged 65 or over

Ordinary palace admission can be free, but Changdeokgung’s garden senior fee is 5,000 KRW. Check age evidence and any separate garden exemption when calculating the total.

Visiting interiors in the rain

Seokjojeon opens 09:30–17:30, with the final guided visit at 16:30 and an advance reservation. Dondeokjeon opens 09:00–17:30, with last entry at 17:00. Plan these visits by their own schedules, separately from the palace grounds.

Addresses and practical checks

Gyeongbokgung: 161 Sajik-ro (경복궁, 사직로161), Line 3 Gyeongbokgung station Exit 5. Changdeokgung: 99 Yulgok-ro (창덕궁, 율곡로99), Line 3 Anguk Exit 3 or Lines 1/3/5 Jongno 3-ga Exit 7. Deoksugung: 99 Sejong-daero (덕수궁, 세종대로99), Lines 1/2 City Hall Exit 2. Official exit guidance is not a measured walk or a certified step-free route.

For a separate tea stop in Insadong, Korea Tourism lists Jeontong Dawon (전통다원), in Kyung-in Museum of Fine Art at 11-4 Insadong 10-gil, with jujube tea, ginger tea and yugwa, a Korean fried rice confection. Tea prices and walking times are outside this comparison. MMCA Seoul at 30 Samcheong-ro beside Gyeongbokgung is a separate art-museum visit; use the linked museum guide’s own tickets, hours and reservation conditions.

Before leaving: check the visit-day closure/holiday notice, distinguish last entry from closing, decide grounds/garden/interior/event, and prepare age/nationality proof and separate tickets. This is an operating-conditions guide; it does not claim a tested wheelchair/stroller route or measured queues.

Official access

Museum tickets nearby

Jeontong Dawon · 전통다원