Seoul Palaces at Night in Hanbok: Two You Can Just Walk Into, One You Have to Fight For

Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung stay open until 9 p.m. all year, and in hanbok you walk in without a booking or an entry fee. Just go.

Gyeongbokgung’s night opening, on the other hand, runs twice a year for about a month each time, and tickets sell out on Interpark in minutes. But there is a catch — hanbok wearers are exempt from the ticket scramble and the headcount cap altogether.

Wearing hanbok at night is, in effect, a ticket.

Which palaces can I just walk into at night?

Palace	Night hours	Last entry	In hanbok	Booking
Deoksugung	Year-round 09:00–21:00	20:00	Free (regular 1,000 won)	Not needed
Changgyeonggung	Year-round 09:00–21:00	20:00	Free (regular 1,000 won)	Not needed
Gyeongbokgung	Spring/autumn special periods only	—	Free	Paid visitors must book
Changdeokgung	Moonlight Tour (separate paid programme)	—	Not free	Lottery booking

Deoksugung is the most accessible night palace in Seoul. It sits right outside City Hall Station, and the illuminated Daehanmun Gate and the night view of Seokjojeon Hall are well-known. Closed Mondays.

Changgyeonggung centres on the Chundangji Pond at night. After dark, the open area is limited to the Honghwamun–Myeongjeongjeon–Tongmyeongjeon–Chundangji–Grand Greenhouse zone, and the shift time varies by season.

Season	Night zone shift time
November–January	17:30
February	17:30
March–May / September–October	18:00
June–August	18:30

At the shift time, anyone still in the daytime zone must move into the night zone. The Grand Greenhouse interior closes at 18:00 from December to February for plant protection. Changgyeonggung is also closed Mondays.

Route tip: Changgyeonggung connects to Changdeokgung inside the grounds, and from Changgyeonggung the Palace Wall Path leads across to Jongmyo. You can start at Changdeokgung during the day, move into Changgyeonggung, and stay through until night — one continuous route.

How do I book the Gyeongbokgung night opening?

Gyeongbokgung’s night opening runs twice a year, for a limited period each time.

2026 Spring season (per the official Royal Palaces and Tombs Agency notice)

Detail
Period	13 May (Wed) – 14 June (Sun) 2026 — closed every Monday and Tuesday
Hours	19:00–21:30 (last entry 20:30)
Price	3,000 won
Booking	Interpark Ticket only, 4 May (Mon) 10:00 – 13 June (Sat) 23:59
Booking limit	Must book at least one day before — no same-day booking. 4 tickets total per Interpark account across the whole period
Capacity	3,300 per day = 3,000 online + 300 on-site (foreign visitors only, 2 tickets per person, passport required)
Open area	Gwanghwamun, Heungnyemun, Geunjeongjeon, Gyeonghoeru, Sajeongjeon, Gangnyeongjeon, Gyotaejeon, Amisan area
Cancellation/refund	Only possible by 17:00 the day before
Enquiries	Gyeongbokgung Management Office 02-3700-3900~1

Hanbok wearers do not need a reservation and are not subject to the headcount cap.

The official notice lists the following as free admission: children under 7 (Korean and foreign, guardians must book), seniors 65 and over (Korean and foreign), hanbok wearers (Korean and foreign), national merit recipients and spouses, bereaved family certificate holders, severely disabled visitors plus one companion, and mildly disabled visitors. And it states explicitly: “Free admission: no limit on number of visitors.”

This is the core of this article. The 3,000 online tickets sell out in minutes every year, and the on-site foreigner allocation is only 300. But if you wear hanbok, there is no headcount limit at all.

Two conditions apply.

1. Entry is verified at Heungnyemun Gate. Free admission visitors go directly to Heungnyemun without a prior booking, present ID, passport or registration for verification, and enter.
2. Your hanbok must meet the Hanbok Free Admission Guidelines. The notice warns: “Visitors wearing hanbok that does not comply with the regulations will be denied entry.” You need a jeogori (top) and chima or baji (skirt or trousers) worn together. Just a durumagi coat, or jeans with only a jeogori, will not pass.

The night opening proceeds as normal in rain. It is an outdoor event, so bring an umbrella.

The autumn schedule varies each year. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Agency cautions that “incorrect information about Gyeongbokgung night openings is widespread on some internet portals — always confirm on the Gyeongbokgung official website.”

Is the Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour free in hanbok?

No. The Moonlight Tour is not general admission — it is a separate paid programme.

2026 Spring season

• Period: 16 April (Thu) – 31 May (Sun)
• Price: 30,000 won per ticket
• Method: Lottery entry, winners only
• Booking: Ticketlink
• Format: A guided walk with a commentator through Jinseonmun → Injeongjeon → Huijeongdang → Nakseonjae → Sangnyangjeong → Buyongji → Bullomun → Yeongyeongdang → the garden forest path, with traditional arts performances
• Restrictions: Preschool-age children (born 2020 or later) not admitted. School-age children and adolescents (born 2008–2019) must be accompanied by a guardian.

This follows the same logic as the Secret Garden not being free for hanbok wearers. Any programme that includes the garden charges separately.

The real problem: most rental shops close before the palace does

Here is the practical constraint. Most hanbok rental shops around Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon close around 7 p.m. If you stay at the palace until 9 p.m., you cannot return the clothes.

A look at the closing times of the 28 shops with verified hours on seoulhanbok.com makes the picture clear.

Closing time	Number of shops	Works with Deoksugung/Changgyeonggung last entry (20:00)?
22:00	1	Yes
20:00	1	Borderline (same time as last entry — return impossible)
19:00	14	No
18:30	4	No
18:00	8	No

Of 28 verified shops, only two stay open past 20:00, and the median closing time is 19:00. The palaces may be open until 9 p.m., but the place you need to return the clothes to is already shut.

※ These figures cover only the shops with verified hours — not every shop in the area. More late-night shops may exist. Check individually before booking.

Three ways around this:

1. Choose a shop that offers full-day rental with next-day return. A handful of shops allow overnight returns.
2. Aim for early evening at Deoksugung or Changgyeonggung. In summer (June–August), the sun sets late — 6 to 7 p.m. still gives you usable dusk light.
3. Tour the palaces during the day, plan night photos for another day.

Individual shop closing times and overnight return policies are listed on each shop’s detail page.

Seasonal note: Seoul’s sunset time shifts by two hours and forty minutes across the year.

Date	Sunset (Seoul)	With a 19:00 return deadline
21 December	17:17	Already dark before return
15 January	17:37	Already dark before return
15 October	17:56	Already dark before return
21 March	18:44	Tight
13 May	19:32	Still light
21 June	19:57	Still light
2 August	19:40	Still light

Out of 366 days, sunset falls before 18:30 on 167 days (about 46%). Winter is actually the better season for night hanbok photos — it is already dark well before the rental shop closes.

You can check the sunset and actual recorded temperature for any date on the hanbok date planner.

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I ran a hanbok rental shop at Gyeongbokgung from 2015 to 2025. The question “can we keep the hanbok overnight?” came up at the counter almost every evening in summer. Most shops in this area cannot accommodate it — if night photos are central to your plan, confirm the return policy before you book, not after.

Compare 28 hanbok shops near Gyeongbokgung →