Deoksugung Palace

덕수궁

Today

Why go

This was the imperial palace of the Korean Empire, proclaimed in 1897. Traditional wooden halls and Western-style buildings stand side by side here, which makes it unusual even among the Joseon palaces. It is open until 9 p.m. all year round, so you can drop in during the evening too.

Admission

₩1,000Adults — foreign visitors aged 19–64 (Korean nationals aged 25–64)

Groups of 10+ ₩800

Ways in free

  • 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

Deoksugung guided tour

English
10:45 · 13:30 · 45 min each
Chinese
10:00 · 14:30 · 45 min each
Japanese
09:30 · 16:00 · 45 min each
Korean
10:30 · 11:15 · 13:00 · 14:15 · 15:15 · 16:30 · 45 min each
Korean
11:15 · 13:00 · 13:30 · 14:15 · 14:30 · 15:15 · 16:30 · 45 min each

Enter through Daehanmun Gate and meet at the general information map 10 m ahead for a tour of about 45 minutes. Groups of fewer than 10 can join free with no booking. Tours leave in English Tuesday–Sunday at 10:45 and 13:30, in Chinese at 10:00 and 14:30, and in Japanese at 09:30 and 16:00. On public holidays, Korean-language tours run at 10:00, 11:15, 14:15 and 16:30. 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 permission, and when a severe weather warning is issued, tours are shortened or cancelled.

Seokjojeon (Daehan Empire History Museum) guided entry

English
11:50 · 14:50 · 45 min each

not on Mon

You can enter the Korean Empire History Museum inside Seokjojeon only at set times, with a guide. The general tour takes 45 minutes and the in-depth tour 65–70 minutes. For the English tours at 11:50 and 14:50, foreign visitors can book on a first-come, first-served basis at the Seokjojeon information desk (up to 20 people per session; show your passport or alien registration card). Other sessions are booked online first come, first served from one week before your visit, with 15 people per session. If you are aged 65 or over or a foreign visitor, up to 5 people per general tour session can get in on site, first come, first served (no on-site booking for the in-depth tour). Entry opens 3 minutes before the start, and if you are late you cannot enter. Bookings can be cancelled or changed until 23:00 the day before your visit.

Book

Free entry in hanbok

No fixed time

If you wear hanbok, foreign visitors also enter free. Modern everyday hanbok counts too. You need to 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.

Highlights

History

The site of Deoksugung Palace (德壽宮, Deoksugung) was originally the residence of Grand Prince Wolsan, elder brother of King Seongjong. When all the palaces of the capital burned in the Imjin War of 1592, King Seonjo used this residence as a temporary palace from 1593, and it was called the Jeongneung-dong Haenggung (temporary palace). In 1611 (the 3rd year of King Gwanghaegun) it received the name Gyeongungung (慶運宮) and became an official palace, but once Changdeokgung was rebuilt it remained a secondary palace. In 1623 King Injo kept only Jeukjodang and Seogeodang and returned most of the buildings to their original owners.

In 1897 King Gojong returned here from the Russian Legation, proclaimed the Korean Empire and made this his imperial palace. It was also then that the palace was enlarged to suit an imperial palace and Western-style buildings began to go up inside it. A great fire in 1904 destroyed many buildings, and in 1907, after Gojong was forced off the throne by Imperial Japan, the palace was renamed Deoksugung, meaning a wish for Gojong’s long life.

Through the Japanese colonial period the palace shrank greatly, many buildings were torn down, and it was turned into a park, losing its look as a royal palace. After liberation, in 1946–1947, the 1st and 2nd sessions of the US–Soviet Joint Commission were held in Seokjojeon. Restoration has continued steadily since then, giving the palace its present form.

Today you enter the palace through Daehanmun Gate on the east side. The original main gate was Inhwamun Gate to the south, but when the palace was rebuilt after the 1904 fire, the eastern Daeanmun Gate was repaired and made the main gate. Western-style buildings such as Seokjojeon stand next to traditional halls such as Junghwajeon, and Seokjojeon, Dondeokjeon and Jungmyeongjeon are used as exhibition halls. Restoration work has been under way since 2007.

Getting there

  • Lines 1/2 City Hall Station · Exit 22 min walk
  • Line 5 Gwanghwamun Station · Exit 610 min walk

서울특별시 중구 세종대로 99

Lot no. · 서울특별시 중구 정동

Make a taxi card

Where next

In these lists

Tips

  • Deoksugung is closed on Mondays. On the other hand, it is open until 9 p.m. all year round, with last entry at 8 p.m.
  • Even though the palace stays open into the night, the exhibition halls close early. Dondeokjeon closes at 17:30 (last entry 17:00), Jungmyeongjeon at 17:30 (last entry 17:00), and the last Seokjojeon tour is at 16:30.
  • To visit the Deoksugung art museum inside the palace, you have to buy a Deoksugung ticket and a museum ticket separately.
  • There is no parking, so come via Exit 2 of City Hall Station. It is a 2-minute walk.
Show details
Address
서울특별시 중구 세종대로 99
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