Layered tiled roofs and red walls of Changgyeonggung halls seen between pine and other trees over a green lawn

Changgyeonggung Palace

창경궁

Today

Why go

King Seongjong enlarged the old Sugangung Palace to build this palace for the three queen dowagers. It is joined to Changdeokgung with no boundary between them, and together the two palaces were called Donggwol. Of the Joseon palaces, it is the only one built facing east. It is open until 9 p.m., so you can drop in during the evening too, but after sunset only the area of Honghwamun, Myeongjeongjeon, Tongmyeongjeon, Chundangji and Daeonsil is open.

9.6%The share of foreign travellers to Seoul who chose “Deoksugung/Changgyeonggung/Changdeokgung” as a place they visited — 2025 Seoul Tourism Survey (foreigners), multiple answers (the three palaces were asked about as one item)

Admission

₩1,000Adults — foreign visitors aged 19–64 (Korean nationals aged 25–64)
Groups of 10+
₩800
Ways in free
Free every Wednesday ("Culture Day"). A notice of 7 October 2026 changed this from the last Wednesday of each month.
Free in hanbok — you need both a jeogori top and a bottom (a skirt or trousers). The same applies to foreigners.
Free for foreign visitors aged 18 and under
Free for foreign visitors aged 65 and over
Combined ticket ₩6,000 · The 4 palaces (Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung) + Jongmyo Shrine, excluding the Changdeokgung Secret Garden (Huwon) · valid for 6 months from the date of purchase

Buy at the gate — no booking needed.

Experiences

Changgyeonggung guided tour

Korean
09:30 · 10:30 · 11:30 · 13:30 · 14:30 · 15:30 · 16:30 · 60 min each
Korean
09:30 · 10:30 · 11:30 · 13:00 · 13:30 · 14:30 · 15:30 · 16:00 · 16:30 · 60 min each
English
11:00 · 15:00 · 60 min each
Chinese
14:00 · 60 min each
Japanese
10:00 · 60 min each

You gather beside Okcheongyo and tour for about 1 hour. English tours leave Tuesday to Sunday at 11:00 and 15:00, Chinese at 14:00 and Japanese at 10:00. Korean-language tours run 7 times a day from Tuesday to Thursday (from 09:30 to 16:30), and 9 times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The English, Chinese and Japanese tours are for foreign visitors, so Koreans may join only when they come with a foreign visitor. To film or record the commentary, you must first get the guide’s consent, and times and routes may change or be cancelled depending on the weather and the institution’s circumstances. Early elementary school children and preschoolers may find the content hard to understand, so a guardian must guide them.

Changgyeonggung evening opening

No fixed time

Changgyeonggung is open until 21:00, and the area open in the evening is Honghwamun, Myeongjeongjeon, Tongmyeongjeon, Chundangji and Daeonsil. Anyone looking around other areas that are open by day must move to this area by the seasonal transfer time (17:30 in November–January and in February, 18:00 in March–May and in September–October, 18:30 in June–August). To protect the plants, Daeonsil cannot be entered from 18:00 in December–February. It is open in November and in March–October.

Free entry in hanbok

No fixed time

If you wear hanbok, foreign visitors also enter free. Modern everyday hanbok counts too. You must wear a jeogori top with a wrap collar together with a skirt or trousers. A jeogori thrown over jeans, or a T-shirt with hanbok bottoms, does not count, and neither does wearing only a durumagi overcoat.

Highlights

History

On the site of Changgyeonggung Palace (昌慶宮, Changgyeonggung) stood Sugangung, built in 1418 by King Sejong for the retired King Taejong. In 1483 (Seongjong 14), King Seongjong greatly enlarged Sugangung for the three queen dowagers, namely Queen Jeonghui, consort of Sejo, Queen Sohye, consort of Deokjong, and Queen Ansun, consort of Yejong, and named it Changgyeonggung. With no boundary between it and Changdeokgung, it formed one palace area called Donggwol, and was used mainly as living quarters for the royal family.

The palace burned in 1592, the year the Imjin War broke out, and in 1616 (Gwanghaegun 8) Myeongjeongjeon, Munjeongjeon, Hwangyeongjeon and others were rebuilt. In 1624 the inner buildings such as Tongmyeongjeon and Yanghwadang burned in the revolt of Yi Gwal and were rebuilt in 1633. In 1830 (Sunjo 30) a great fire destroyed most of the halls, and the main halls were rebuilt 4 years later, in 1834. The Korea Heritage Service describes this as the place where Gyeongjong, Jeongjo, Sunjo and Heonjong were born, and where Crown Prince Sohyeon, Jangjo (Crown Prince Sado) and Lady Hyegyeong died.

After Sunjong took the throne in 1907, a zoo and a botanical garden were built inside the palace, and it began to lose its look as a palace. They opened in 1909, and in 1911 Imperial Japan lowered even the palace’s name to Changgyeongwon and turned it into a park. After liberation, the name Changgyeonggung was restored in 1983, the zoo was moved to Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, and work to restore the old palace appearance has continued to the present.

Unlike other palaces, which mostly face south, at Changgyeonggung the main gate Honghwamun and the main hall Myeongjeongjeon face east. Past Honghwamun is Okcheongyo Bridge, and the areas open under the March 2026 notice are Yanghwadang, Tongmyeongjeon, Gyeongchunjeon, Haminjeong, Hwangyeongjeon, Munjeongjeon, Myeongjeongjeon, Daeonsil and Chundangji. Admission is 1,000 won, and the palace was designated a Historic Site in 1963.

Getting there

Subway
Line 4 Hyehwa Station · Exit 412 min walk
Address
서울특별시 종로구 창경궁로 185
Lot no. ·
서울특별시 종로구 와룡동
Make a taxi card

Where next

Photos

Layered tiled roofs and red walls of Changgyeonggung halls seen between pine and other trees over a green lawn
A red-pillared hall with green lattice doors on a low stone base, a pine spreading beside it across a sandy courtyard

Tips

Changgyeonggung is closed on Mondays. If a Monday falls on a public holiday or substitute holiday it is open, and it closes on the next non-holiday day. Visiting hours run until 9 p.m., with last entry at 8 p.m. However, depending on the season, after 17:30, 18:00 or 18:30 only the evening area (Honghwamun, Myeongjeongjeon, Tongmyeongjeon, Chundangji, Daeonsil) is open.

Admission is 1,000 won, and Wednesdays are free. If you plan to see all 4 palaces and Jongmyo, there is a combined ticket (6,000 won) valid for 6 months.

Parts of the palace are restricted for construction or restoration. According to the March 2026 notice, part of Chundangji cannot be entered from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. because of lighting, and at Gwolnaegaksa you can see only the Seoninmun and Gwancheondae side until restoration work is finished. When you continue on to Changdeokgung through Hamyangmun, the cut-off from February to May is 17:00.

It takes about 12 minutes on foot from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station. The palace has no parking lot, so come by public transport.

Show details
Address
서울특별시 종로구 창경궁로 185
Hours
09:00–21:00
Last entry
20:00
Closed
Closed Mon — if Mon is a public holiday it opens and closes the next weekday instead
Admission
₩1,000

Sources