Gyeongbokgung is the palace most first-time visitors put on day one, and the paid tours that include it are easy to find. The palace runs its own guided tours in English, free with your ticket, several times a day. So the question isn’t whether you need a guide. It’s whether you want someone else to handle the rest of your morning.
Below, we set out when the free tour runs and where it starts, a half-day plan built around its times, and the cases where a paid tour saves you real time. We checked the palace’s times and fees on the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center’s official page on October 1, 2026, and checked them again on October 11, 2026. We also checked the tour listings on one booking site on October 1, 2026 (how we research).
The free English tour: times, meeting point, closed days
The free tour is the palace’s own guided walk, run by the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center. You pay only the admission fee. The times below are on the center’s official admission page for Gyeongbokgung, which is the page to check before you go.[1]
English tours start at 11:00, 13:30 and 15:30, from Wednesday to Monday, and last about an hour to an hour and a half (as of October 1, 2026).[1] They start in front of the Gyeongbokgung Palace Information Center, just inside Heungnyemun Gate.[1]
You don’t need to book if your group has fewer than 10 people; just turn up. Groups of 10 or more must reserve in advance. Reserved groups and walk-ins are led together by one guide, and a reserved group can have up to 30 people.[1] Tours also run in Japanese, Chinese, Spanish (Fridays and Saturdays) and French (Wednesdays and Thursdays) (as of October 1, 2026).[1]
The palace is closed on Tuesdays. If a public holiday or substitute holiday falls on a Tuesday, it opens that day and closes the next day instead.[1]
Admission for adults aged 19 to 64 is KRW 3,000 (about US$2.20), or KRW 2,400 (about US$1.80) each in a group of 10 or more (as of October 1, 2026).[1] Entry is free for anyone 18 or under, anyone 65 or over, and anyone wearing hanbok (traditional Korean clothing).[1]
The hanbok rule is stricter than it sounds. You need both the upper garment and the skirt or trousers, worn properly. A hanbok top with jeans, or a hanbok skirt with a T-shirt, doesn’t count.[2]
Opening hours change with the season. In September and October, the palace is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5 p.m. From November through February it closes at 5 p.m., with last admission at 4 p.m. (as of October 1, 2026).[1]
A half-day plan with the free tour
The free tour has fixed start times, so plan the morning around it rather than squeezing it in. Here’s one way to fit the palace, Bukchon Hanok Village (a neighborhood of hanok, traditional Korean houses) and Gwangjang Market into a half day, starting from the 11:00 tour. The opening hours come from official pages. The walking and travel gaps are our own planning allowances, not measured times.
| Time | Where | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| 9:30 a.m. | Arrive and buy tickets | The palace opens at 9 a.m.[1] |
| 10:00 a.m. | Royal Guard Changing Ceremony, Heungnyemun Gate area | Listed at 10:00 and 14:00, Wednesday to Monday, in a 2023 tourism article[6] |
| 11:00 a.m. | Free English tour from the Information Center | Takes about 1 to 1.5 hours[1] |
| About 12:45 p.m. | Bukchon Hanok Village | Its visitor hours on Bukchon-ro 11-gil run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.[4] |
| About 2:30 p.m. | Gwangjang Market for a late lunch | Food alley: open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., every day.[9] Market shops: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on Sundays[5][9] |
Two other start times work if you shift the order:
- 13:30 tour. Spend the morning in Bukchon from 10 a.m.,[4] eat nearby, then walk to the palace for the 13:30 tour.[1] Gwangjang Market’s food alley stays open until 11 p.m., though the market’s shops close at 6 p.m.[5][9]
- 15:30 tour. This is the tight one. The tour can run until around 5 p.m., and from November last admission is at 4 p.m. and the palace closes at 5 p.m.[1] Enter well before the tour starts, and don’t plan on staying after it.
Check the day of the week before you commit. The palace is closed on Tuesdays.[1] Gwangjang Market’s shops close on Sundays, but its food alley is open every day, so the lunch stop in this plan works on any day the palace is open.[5][9]
When paying to bundle saves time
A paid half-day tour isn’t a better palace tour. You can hear the palace’s history for free. What you pay for is everything around it: a meeting point, transport between the stops, and someone else keeping time.
That’s worth it in a few cases:
- You have only one morning. One half-day tour listed on GetYourGuide (the listed tour below) covers the palace and a hanok village in its half-day options, with transport between stops, and ends by dropping you at Gwangjang Market.[8]
- The free tour times don’t fit. If you can’t be at the Information Center at 11:00, 13:30 or 15:30,[1] a paid tour gives you a guide at another time.
- You’d rather not find your own way. It’s your first day, and you don’t want to work out subway lines or walking routes yet.
It isn’t worth it if you only want to see the palace. The free tour already gives you a guide,[1] and visitors in hanbok, those 18 and under and those 65 and over don’t even pay the KRW 3,000 (about US$2.20) entry.[1]
Know what the paid tour includes besides the palace. On GetYourGuide’s page for the listed tour, the half-day Bukchon option runs Gyeongbokgung (with the guard ceremony), Bukchon Hanok Village, a drive along the Bugak Skyway, a stop at a ginseng museum where ginseng products are sold, and a drop-off at Gwangjang Market.[8] The same listing has a Tuesday-only option that visits Deoksugung Palace instead of Gyeongbokgung, so check which option you’re booking.[8] The product page gives “4 to 8.5 hours” and the listing page “4 to 9 hours”, both across all options; neither says how long the half-day option takes.[7][8]
We checked the prices on October 1, 2026. These are “from” prices. They change with the date and the option you choose.
| Option | Listed price, and where | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Palace on your own, with the free tour | KRW 3,000 (about US$2.20) adult admission; the tour is free (palace’s official page)[1] | An official guide at the palace only |
| Palace, Bukchon and Gwangjang tour on GetYourGuide | Shown as “From $33” with “$30” beside it on GetYourGuide’s listing page; the page doesn’t say which applies to your date (as of October 1, 2026)[7] | Guide, transport, four stops and a market drop-off; half-day duration not stated[8] |
GetYourGuide’s listings are ranked partly on revenue, including supplier commissions, so a tour’s place in that list isn’t our recommendation.[7] Compare tours on the stops, the meeting point and the cancellation terms. The listed tour gives a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours ahead.[8]
We recommend the listed tour if you want the palace, a hanok village and Gwangjang Market in one morning, and don’t mind the ginseng museum stop. It’s on GetYourGuide.[8] If you only want the palace, the free official English tour is the alternative; adult admission is KRW 3,000 (as of October 1, 2026, about US$2.20).[1]
Getting there and how long to allow
The closest station is Gyeongbokgung Station on Seoul Subway Line 3. From Exit 5, it’s about a five-minute walk. From Exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5, allow about ten minutes.[3] Our transit card guide explains which card to tap. If you come straight from Incheon Airport, our AREX guide covers the train into the city.
Allow at least two and a half hours at the palace if you take the free tour. That covers buying a ticket, walking in to Heungnyemun Gate, and the tour itself, which runs about one to one and a half hours.[1] Add time if you want to watch the guard ceremony first.[6]
One thing not to confuse: the palace also opens in the evening during certain periods, with separate admission.[6] Those evening openings aren’t the daytime free tour, and the free English tour times above apply only during the day.[1] If you see an evening ticket for sale, it’s a different program. Check the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center’s notices for dates.
Good to know
| If you… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Only want the palace | Take the free English tour at 11:00, 13:30 or 15:30[1] |
| Are a group of 10 or more | Book the free tour in advance[1] |
| Plan to wear hanbok | Wear the top and the skirt or trousers together for free entry[2] |
| Want the palace, Bukchon and Gwangjang in one morning | Use the plan above, or book a half-day tour and check its stops |
| Are visiting on a Tuesday | Go somewhere else; the palace is closed[1] |
Before you go:
- Check the day: the palace is closed on Tuesdays; at Gwangjang Market, the shops close on Sundays but the food alley is open every day.[1][5][9]
- Be at the Information Center inside Heungnyemun Gate a few minutes before the tour starts.[1]
- If you’re taking the 15:30 tour from November, enter before last admission at 4 p.m.[1]
- Booking a paid tour? Read its option, stops, end point and cancellation terms first.[8]
Opening hours, tour times and fees change. Check the palace’s official page before you go.
More for your first days is in Arriving in Seoul. For a day trip out of the city, read our guide to DMZ tours from Seoul. To see how we’re paid, read how we’re funded.
