Gyeongbokgung Night Tour
Gyeongbokgung opens at night only for a few weeks in spring and autumn: the autumn 2026 opening ran 2 September to 2 October, 7pm to 9:30pm. How tickets work, hanbok entry and day tours.
Gyeongbokgung has no year-round night tour: the palace opens after dark only for its night openings, a few weeks each spring and autumn, and in 2026 the autumn session ran from 2 September to 2 October, 7pm to 9:30pm. The 2027 dates had not been announced when this was written on 23 October 2026. The rest of the year the palace closes at 5pm or 6pm, and the way to see it is by day: VIP Travel’s Seoul Highlights tour spends an hour inside with a guide, and its full-day option ends at N Seoul Tower, from US$26 a person (checked October 2026).
How the night opening works
The heritage service runs two sessions a year, one in the first half of the year and one in the second. The autumn 2026 session followed this pattern:
- Dates and hours: 2 September to 2 October 2026, 7pm to 9:30pm, last entry 8:30pm, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Online tickets: sold on NOL Ticket (nol.interpark.com), first come first served, 3,000 a day and up to four per person.
- For foreign visitors: 300 same-day tickets a day at the Gwanghwamun Ticket Office, two per person, with your passport.
- Free entry: visitors entitled to it, including anyone in hanbok, go in without a reservation.
The lit route covers Gwanghwamun, Heungnyemun, the Geunjeongjeon throne hall, Gyeonghoeru pavilion on its pond, Sajeongjeon, Gangnyeongjeon and Gyotaejeon, and Amisan Garden. The rest of the grounds stay dark.
None of the GetYourGuide tours or photoshoots listed on this site goes into the palace during the night opening; they all run in the daytime, so a night visit needs one of the tickets above or free entry in hanbok.
When the next one opens
The spring 2027 dates had not been published by late October 2026. The heritage service announces each session with its online sale date in a press release; the autumn 2026 release came out on 19 August, two weeks before the first night. The online tickets are limited to 3,000 a night, so if your trip falls in spring or early autumn, watch the heritage service’s palace pages and NOL Ticket from the start of the year. The same-day tickets for foreign visitors are the fallback; get to the Gwanghwamun ticket office early.
Hanbok at night
Free entry in hanbok applies at night too, with no reservation, which makes a rental the easiest way in. Check the return time, though: gigibebe hanbok’s rental, for one, must be back by 7pm, when the night opening begins, so a day rental from that shop does not stretch into the evening.
If your dates miss it
Most visitors will. By day the palace is busier but complete: the full grounds, the guard ceremony at 10am and 2pm, and the National Folk Museum. The highlights tour covers that with a guide and goes on to Insadong and N Seoul Tower; Korea Guide Tour’s two-hour palace tour stays inside and ends at Gyeonghoeru, the pavilion that is the centrepiece of the night route. The palace closes at 6pm in September and October and 5pm from November, with last entry an hour earlier, so an afternoon visit ends in the late light.
Pick a daytime visit:
Seoul Highlights Tour
Guard change, an hour in the palace with a guide, Insadong and N Seoul Tower.
Check dates →Palace Half-Day Tour
Two hours inside, ending at Gyeonghoeru. Ticket included, weekdays only.
See the palace tour →Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote.
Check dates and book
See the Palace by Day, With a Guide
VIP Travel's Seoul Highlights tour starts with the changing of the guard, spends an hour inside Gyeongbokgung with a guide, and the full-day option ends with the cable car up to N Seoul Tower. Rated 4.8 from 1,002 reviews, from US$26 a person as of October 2026, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check Highlights Tour Dates