Is Gyeongbokgung Free With Hanbok?
Yes: hanbok gets you into Gyeongbokgung free in October 2026, if it is a jeogori jacket with a skirt or trousers. What counts, what doesn't, and rentals from US$8.
Yes. In October 2026 anyone wearing hanbok goes into Gyeongbokgung free, Korean or not, as long as the outfit is a jeogori, the short jacket, worn with a skirt or trousers. Modern hanbok counts; a hanbok-style coat over ordinary clothes does not. The rental shops around the palace make it easy: gigibebe hanbok’s Gyeongbok Palace hanbok rental includes hair styling, a bag and a locker, from US$10 a person (checked October 2026).
What counts as hanbok
The heritage service’s guideline is about the outfit, not who wears it. You need a jeogori with a skirt (chima) or trousers (baji). Traditional and modernised hanbok both qualify, fusion styles included, and it does not matter whether you wear the men’s or the women’s cut. What does not qualify is a hanbok-style coat over your own clothes. One-piece dresses are the grey area: the rule accepts one only if it clearly has a jeogori with an overlapping collar and a separate skirt, and in 2026 some visitors in one-piece robes in the style of a court costume were refused free entry. Outfits from the rental shops by the palace pass; their listings include the free entry.
The palace posts no dress code for visitors in ordinary clothes; you simply pay the ₩3,000.
Can visitors from abroad wear it?
Yes. The rental shops by the palace dress visitors from abroad all day, and the free entry applies to everyone, Korean or not. The rentals stock a wide range of sizes: gigibebe lists S to XXXL for women, up to a 130 cm chest, and S to XXXXL for men, up to 140 cm.
Where the free entry applies
The same outfit gets you into the other royal palaces. The rental listings name Changdeokgung, Gyeonghuigung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung as free in hanbok, which helps on a Tuesday, when Gyeongbokgung is closed and Changdeokgung is open. During the palace’s night openings, visitors entitled to free entry, hanbok included, go in without a reservation.
Will it last?
The heritage service told lawmakers in October 2026 that it is reviewing free entry in hanbok alongside a planned rise in palace fees, with no date for either. Nothing has changed yet; check before a 2027 trip.
Renting one by the palace
| Shop | From (October 2026) | Included | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| gigibebe hanbok | US$10 | Hanbok, hair styling, hairband, bag, locker | Return by 7pm; ₩5,000 an hour late |
| Daehan Hanbok | US$8 | Hanbok, underskirt, bag, hairband, locker | 1,500+ hanbok; hairstyling extra |
| Hanboknam | US$14 | Full set, inner skirt, hairstyling, locker | One minute from Gyeongbokgung Station |
Your own clothes go in the locker. The underskirt or inner skirt that gives the skirt its shape is included at Daehan Hanbok and Hanboknam; at gigibebe a petticoat is an add-on. gigibebe rents for 2 hours, 4 hours or the whole day and closes at 7pm. Allow time for dressing: one Hanboknam guest warns that with a two-hour rental and a crowded shop you have to start early to make the 10am guard ceremony.
Pick your rental:
gigibebe hanbok
2 hours to a full day, hair styling, bag and locker in the price.
Check dates →Daehan Hanbok
More than 1,500 hanbok and the most reviews at the palace.
See Daehan Hanbok →Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote.
Check dates and book
Hanbok, Hair Styling and Free Entry
gigibebe hanbok's rental by Gyeongbokgung includes the hanbok, hair styling, a hairband, a handbag and a locker, and the palace is free while you wear it. Rated 4.5 from 364 reviews, from US$10 a person as of October 2026, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check Hanbok Rental Times