SEOUL'S FIVE GRAND PALACES
Gyeongbokgung and Seoul's Five Grand Palaces
Gyeongbokgung is the largest of Seoul's five grand palaces — but not the only one worth a visit. How they compare, the joint ticket, and which to pair in a day.
Check dates and availability ↗The Five Grand Palaces of Seoul at a glance — weekly closing days differ, so check before you go
| Palace | Character | Closed |
|---|---|---|
| Gyeongbokgung | Grandest and most formal; guard ceremony | Tuesdays |
| Changdeokgung | UNESCO-listed; the Secret Garden | Mondays |
| Changgyeonggung | Intimate; former colonial-era garden | Mondays |
| Deoksugung | Western-style halls, downtown; own guard ceremony | Mondays |
| Gyeonghuigung | Quiet, partly rebuilt; usually free | Mondays |
Why Seoul has five palaces
First-time visitors are often surprised that Seoul has not one royal palace but five. The reason is partly practical and partly dynastic: over five centuries the Joseon kings built, abandoned, rebuilt and added palaces as fortune, fire and politics dictated. Gyeongbokgung was the main, formal palace; the others served as secondary residences, retreats, dowager quarters or emergency seats when the principal palace was unusable — as it was for the 270 years after it burned in 1592. Together they are known as the Five Grand Palaces. You do not need to see all five, but knowing how they differ helps you choose well, because they are genuinely distinct in character — and several sit close enough to pair in a single day.
Gyeongbokgung: the main, formal palace
Gyeongbokgung is the grandest and most symmetrical of the five — the ceremonial flagship, laid out on a formal axis with the widest courtyards, the largest throne hall and the famous changing-of-the-guard ceremony at its main gate. Because it was the most important, it was also the most thoroughly destroyed and the most heavily reconstructed, so much of what you see is a careful modern rebuild of the 1860s palace. It is the busiest of the five, especially in cherry-blossom and autumn weeks, and the natural first choice for anyone with time for only one palace. If you want scale, formality and pageantry, this is the palace that delivers them most completely.
Changdeokgung: the UNESCO palace and Secret Garden
If you have time for a second palace, make it Changdeokgung, a short walk east. Where Gyeongbokgung is formal and symmetrical, Changdeokgung was built to follow its hilly terrain, and that easy harmony with the landscape earned it UNESCO World Heritage status. It is also the best-preserved of the five, and it was the palace where the kings actually lived for most of the dynasty, including the long centuries after Gyeongbokgung burned. Its great draw is the Huwon, the 'Secret Garden' — a wooded royal garden of pavilions and lotus ponds usually visited on a separate timed, guided tour, so check availability and book ahead. Many Seoul visitors rate it their favourite palace, precisely because it feels less like a monument and more like a place.
Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung
Two more palaces are easy to fold in. Changgyeonggung adjoins Changdeokgung — the two were together known as the 'East Palace' — and was built largely as a residence for dowager queens; under colonial rule it suffered the indignity of being turned into a zoo and botanical garden, and its grand glass greenhouse still stands as a relic of that era. Deoksugung, beside City Hall in the modern downtown, is the most unusual of the five: it was where King Gojong moved when he proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897, and it mixes traditional halls with Western-style stone buildings. It has its own changing-of-the-guard ceremony at its front gate, and its position among the office towers makes for a striking contrast of old and new.
Gyeonghuigung: the quiet western palace
The fifth palace, Gyeonghuigung, is the one most visitors never reach — and that is part of its appeal. Once a substantial 'Western Palace' on the far side of the old city, it was almost entirely dismantled during the colonial period, and only a portion has since been reconstructed. What remains is modest by the standards of Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung, but it is usually free to enter and blessedly uncrowded, a calm counterpoint to the tour-group flow of the main palaces. If you are a repeat visitor, or simply want a palace largely to yourself on a busy weekend, Gyeonghuigung rewards the short detour with quiet courtyards and space to think.
Choosing, the combined ticket, and rest days
For most visitors the sensible plan is one or two palaces, not five: Gyeongbokgung for scale and ceremony, then Changdeokgung for its garden and atmosphere, easily paired in a single day as they sit minutes apart. If you intend to see several, look for the combined palace ticket, which bundles admission to the four main palaces and the Jongmyo royal shrine at a saving over separate tickets and stays valid for several weeks — worthwhile from about three palaces up. One practical trap to avoid: the palaces stagger their closing days. Gyeongbokgung shuts on Tuesdays, while Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Gyeonghuigung all close on Mondays — so a Monday in Seoul is a Gyeongbokgung day, and a Tuesday is for the others.