Culture

Seoul's palaces, and the four ways in for nothing

Two million people used the hanbok free-entry rule at Seoul palaces last year, and a steady stream of them get turned away at the ticket window without understanding why. The rule is not arbitrary and it is published, but it is published in Korean. Here it is in English, along with the three other ways to pay nothing.

What it costs if you just buy a ticket

Children aged 7 to 18 pay half. The combined ticket is valid for three months and admits you once to each site, which means it pays for itself on the third palace.

These are not expensive. The reason to care is that most visitors pay them without knowing they did not have to.

Way one: wear hanbok

Anyone in hanbok enters the four main palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and the forty Joseon royal tombs free. No age limit, no nationality requirement, no booking.

The scheme has run since 2013 to encourage hanbok being worn rather than displayed. Uptake went from around 300,000 people a year at the start to over two million last year.

The rule that decides it at the gate

Your outfit needs a separate top and bottom. That is the whole test, and everything else follows from it.

• Jeogori (the top) must have a crossed, overlapping collar. Ties are optional and any knot is fine.
• Bottom must be a skirt (chima) or trousers (baji). A high-waisted skirt counts if the jeogori reaches the waist.
• Both traditional and modern everyday hanbok qualify. Zips instead of ties are fine, and trousers do not need ankle bands.

What gets turned away:

• A one-piece hanbok dress. Even in hanbok fabric with a collar and ties. The dress-style cheollik is the common casualty.
• Cheollik, dopo or gonryongpo worn alone. These are outer garments. Officials describe wearing one over ordinary clothes as wearing a coat over underwear.
• Jeans with a jeogori, or a hanbok skirt with a t-shirt. Half an outfit is not an outfit.
• A jeogori with no closure, cut like a vest, or cut short enough to expose the chest line.
• Costume-drama outfits that are not hanbok. The published guideline uses the phrase "befitting the dignity of the palace", which is the discretionary part.

What to actually ask the rental shop

Rental shops near Gyeongbokgung are set up for this and most of their stock qualifies. But they are selling a photograph, not a ticket, and the fashionable one-piece styles are exactly the ones that fail.

Ask one question: "Is this two pieces, a jeogori and a skirt or trousers?" If the answer is yes, you are fine.

Officials have asked visitors to remember which direction the favour runs here. In their words, the point is not that you wear hanbok in order to get in free, it is that you get in free in order to encourage hanbok being worn.

Way two: the last Wednesday of the month

Culture Day. Admission is free at the palaces on the last Wednesday of every month, for everybody, with no conditions.

If your trip contains one, that is the day to do the palace you were going to skip.

Way three: your age

Foreign visitors aged 6 and under, or 65 and over, enter free. Bring the passport, since the ticket window needs to see the date rather than take your word for it.

Note that the thresholds differ for Korean nationals, which is why you will see different numbers quoted online. The figures above are the ones for you.

Way four: know which palace you actually want

Free entry is only a saving if you were going anyway. Two notes that change what people choose:

Changdeokgung's Secret Garden is a separate, limited ticket. The combined ticket does not cover it, numbers are capped, and even ticket holders have to exchange for a timed entry on the day. If the garden is the reason you are going, book it separately and early.

Deoksugung is the cheapest and the most central, sits inside the city rather than behind a wall, and does the changing of the guard out front. For a short trip with one palace in it, this is often the better use of an afternoon than the biggest one.

Practical notes

Free entry still needs a ticket. Go to the window, show whatever qualifies you, and collect a free ticket. Do not walk to the gate.

Palaces close one day a week and it is not the same day everywhere. Check before you plan a morning around one.

Hanbok rental plus free entry is still not free. The rental is the cost. Two hours of hanbok runs well above the 10,000 KRW combined ticket, so do it because you want the photographs, not as a saving.

Public holidays change opening hours, and what is open on any given day is on the front page, updated every morning.

Quick answers: Seoul palaces

Is Gyeongbokgung free if you wear hanbok?

Yes. Anyone in hanbok enters Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Jongmyo and the royal tombs free, with no booking. The outfit must be a separate top and bottom - a jeogori with a crossed collar plus a skirt or trousers. One-piece hanbok dresses are turned away.

How much is Gyeongbokgung admission?

3,000 KRW for an adult foreign visitor. The combined ticket for all four palaces plus Jongmyo is 10,000 KRW, valid three months, and pays for itself on the third palace.

When are Seoul palaces free for everyone?

On Culture Day, the last Wednesday of every month, with no conditions. Foreign visitors aged 6 and under or 65 and over enter free at any time with a passport.

Which day are Seoul palaces closed?

Each palace closes one day a week and it is not the same day everywhere, so check before planning a morning around one. Public holidays change opening hours too.

Does the combined palace ticket include Changdeokgung's Secret Garden?

No. The Secret Garden is a separate, capped ticket, and even ticket holders exchange for a timed entry on the day. Book it separately and early.

Figures on this page come from Korea Heritage Service, Korea Heritage Portal, Deoksugung, Yonhap fact-check on hanbok criteria, May 2026. Checked against the published source on the date below.

LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026