Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung: Which Palace Should You Visit?

“There are several palaces in Seoul. If I only see one, where should I go.”

I heard this across the counter, map unfolded in front of a customer, hundreds of times over ten years. The answer depends on the person, but the fork in the road was always the same. How much time do you have. Can you book ahead. And what did you come to see.

A Side-by-Side Comparison

	Gyeongbokgung	Changdeokgung
Founded	1395	1405
Role	Beopgung — the primary royal palace	Igung — the secondary palace, though it actually served as primary for about 270 years
Main palace admission	3,000 won	3,000 won
Garden	Gyeonghoeru Pavilion and Hyangwonjeong (included in main admission)	Huwon — separate 5,000 won + reservation
Reservation	Not needed (evening admission only)	Main palace not needed / Huwon required
Closing day	Tuesday	Monday
Time needed	90 minutes to 2 hours	Main palace 1 hour (+ Huwon 1–1.5 hours)
Hanbok free entry	Yes	Main palace yes / Huwon no
Royal Guard ceremony	10:00 and 14:00	None
World Heritage	Not listed	Listed in 1997

Why the Two Palaces Feel So Different

Gyeongbokgung was the first palace built after the capital moved to Hanyang in 1395, and it was the beopgung — the main, official palace. It sits on flat ground on a straight north-south axis: Gwanghwamun–Heungnyemun–Geunjeongmun–Geunjeongjeon all in a single line. You feel it when you walk it. The sightlines are open, and the buildings face you squarely. That is why photographs here convey heft.

Changdeokgung was built in 1405 as the igung, the secondary palace. Here the axis deliberately bends. The architects left the foothills of Eungbong as they were and placed buildings between them, so when you enter through Donhwamun, the main throne hall (Injeongjeon) is not in front of you. The path twists. You turn a wall and it appears. This “accommodation of the natural terrain” is part of why it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.

One more thing. After the Japanese invasions of the 1590s burned every palace in Hanyang to the ground, the first one rebuilt was not Gyeongbokgung. It was Changdeokgung, in 1610. Gyeongbokgung sat as vacant ground for roughly 270 years after that. For the entire later half of the Joseon dynasty, Changdeokgung was the working palace in practice. The Gyeongbokgung you see today is largely a mid-19th-century reconstruction (groundbreaking 1865) plus late-20th-century restoration work.

I have laid out the full story of all five palaces in a separate piece: Why Seoul Has Five Palaces.

Huwon — The Most Important Part of This Article

When people recommend Changdeokgung, the “real” thing they are talking about is usually the Huwon rear garden. And the rules for Huwon are precise, which is where most misunderstandings happen.

Item	Detail
Fee	5,000 won for adults — you need this plus the 3,000 won main palace ticket (so 8,000 won total)
Reservation	Online, first-come-first-served, from 10:00 six days before the visit date until the day before
Walk-up	On the day, from 09:00, all time slots sold simultaneously
Capacity	100 per time slot (50 online + 50 walk-up)
Tour format	Entry at a fixed time slot — option of guided or self-guided
Route	About 2.1 km, 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes
Free admission	Only children age 6 and under, national merit recipients and disabled visitors (Korean nationals)

Hanbok free entry does not apply to Huwon. The integrated ticket does not cover it either, nor does the free-entry policy for Koreans aged 24 and under. This is the single most common mistake travellers make about palace admission in Seoul, and it leads to genuine disappointment on the ground. You walk into Changdeokgung in hanbok and the main grounds are free, but when you reach the Huwon entrance, you pay 5,000 won.

A few practical notes:

• The walk from Donhwamun to the Huwon entrance is about 15 minutes. If you are late for your time slot, you are not let in and you are not refunded. In peak season, arriving an hour early is sensible.
• April–May and October–November sell out quickly, both online and walk-up.
• Payment routes are split. The Korean-language booking page only takes domestic-issued cards; the English page only takes foreign-issued cards. Foreign travellers trying to book on the Korean page and hitting a payment wall is a common story.
• Foreign-language guided slots generally do not admit Korean nationals (up to two exceptions if accompanying a foreign visitor).
• The old rule about “guided tour only” is outdated. You can now enter at your time slot and walk independently.

Where the Photos Work

If you are coming in hanbok to take pictures, the character of the two palaces is quite different.

Gyeongbokgung gives you strong frontal compositions. The stone courtyard in front of Geunjeongjeon. The reflection of Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in its pond. The bridge and pavilion at Hyangwonjeong. The flower-patterned walls of Jagyeongjeon. The figure goes small, the backdrop goes large. When the grounds are crowded, stepping off the central axis — into the colonnades around Geunjeongjeon or the rear of Jagyeongjeon — helps.

Changdeokgung gives you narrow, deep compositions. The Injeongjeon colonnades. The raised wooden floors and lattice windows at Nakseonjae. The alley-like passages through the government offices inside the palace walls. The background is close, the lines are dense, and the figure fills the frame. Overcast or rainy days work particularly well here.

Huwon is ruled by the seasons. The fresh green of spring and the late-autumn foliage are overwhelming. Summer foliage is heavy and photographs can come out dark. The fixed time slots also mean you cannot choose your light — a real constraint.

I have written up the photography rules that apply inside the palaces separately: Palace Photography Rules.

So Where Should You Go

Hanbok Makes Sense for Either Palace

The conclusion is straightforward. Both palaces are free in hanbok for the main grounds. Gyeongbokgung 3,000 won plus Changdeokgung 3,000 won in one day saves you 6,000 won. Add Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung and it is 8,000 won. The hanbok rental fee does exceed this amount, but the larger advantage is not the saving — it is skipping the ticket queue. On a peak-season weekend morning, that can mean thirty minutes or more of standing in line.

The accepted hanbok criteria (full top and bottom, overlapping collar) are identical at both palaces. I have collected the conditions and exceptions in the Hanbok Free Entry Guide.

But once more: Huwon is separate. If your plan includes the rear garden, put the 5,000 won into your budget.

The fees, hours and reservation rules listed here are current as of the posting date and may change. The Huwon booking system in particular has undergone several revisions in recent years, so check again just before your visit.

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