Changdeokgung Secret Garden Tickets (2026): How to Book

Last checked: October 12, 2026 · Sources: Korea Heritage Service Royal Palaces site and the official Changdeokgung booking site, linked below.

Changdeokgung Secret Garden tickets go on sale online at 10:00 a.m. Korea time, 6 days before your visit (not counting the visit day), and sell until the day before. Each entry slot has 100 places: 50 sold online and 50 sold at the ticket office from 9:00 a.m. on the day. The Secret Garden costs ₩5,000 for adults, and you also need a ₩3,000 palace grounds ticket. The palace is closed on Mondays.

When do Secret Garden tickets open online?

At 10:00 a.m. KST, 6 days before the visit date. The official English booking page gives the example: to visit on December 8, book from 10 a.m. on December 2. Online sales run until the day before your visit. There is no same-day online booking and no phone booking.

Because the window is always 6 days, the weekday is easy to work out:

You want to visit on	Booking opens at 10:00 KST on
Tuesday	Wednesday of the week before
Wednesday	Thursday of the week before
Thursday	Friday of the week before
Friday	Saturday of the week before
Saturday	Sunday, 6 days earlier
Sunday	Monday, 6 days earlier
Monday	Closed, no Secret Garden tours (if Monday is a public holiday, the palace opens and closes the next non-holiday instead)

Korea has no daylight saving time, so 10:00 KST is always 01:00 UTC. From abroad that means:

Your time zone	10:00 KST is
UTC / GMT	01:00 the same day
London in summer (BST)	02:00 the same day
New York (EDT / EST)	9 p.m. / 8 p.m. the day before
Los Angeles (PDT / PST)	6 p.m. / 5 p.m. the day before
Sydney (AEDT / AEST)	12:00 / 11:00 the same day

How many tickets are online vs on-site?

Item	Number	Notes
Places per entry slot	100	Per language slot
Sold online	50	From 10:00 KST, 6 days ahead
Sold at the ticket office	50	From 09:00 on the day, first come first served
Max per person	10	Online and on-site
Unsold online places	Move to on-site sale	On the day

At the ticket office, all of that day’s slots go on sale together at 9:00 a.m., so in busy months even afternoon slots can sell out early in the day. The official site warns that in April–May and October–November both the online and on-site Secret Garden tickets sell out very fast, and suggests arriving at least an hour before your entry time in peak season.

The English booking page shows “up to 5 tickets per day” in one box but 10 everywhere else, and the main palace site says 10. If the form stops you at 5, that’s why.

What are the English tour times?

Every Secret Garden entry is a timed slot tied to a language. These are the current official times:

Language	Months	Entry times
English	March–November	10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30
English	December–February	10:30, 11:30, 14:30
Korean	March–October	10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00
Korean	November–February	10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00
Japanese	All year	13:30 (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday only)
Chinese	All year	12:30 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday only)

Foreign-language slots are for foreign visitors. A Korean can join only as one of up to 2 Korean companions of a foreign visitor, and staff may ask for a passport or residence card.

You choose on the day whether to follow the Heritage Interpreter or walk on your own. The official course takes about 90 minutes in March–June and September–November, and about 70 minutes in July–August and December–February. Tours can be shortened in heat waves, heavy snow or bad air.

Our view: if every English slot on your date is gone, look at the Korean-language slots. The official rules only limit foreign-language slots to foreigners, not the other way round, and since walking on your own is allowed, the language matters only if you want the guide.

How much does it cost?

You pay for two tickets: the palace grounds and the Secret Garden. The Secret Garden ticket does not include palace entry.

Visitor (foreign)	Palace grounds	Secret Garden	Total
Adult, 19–64	₩3,000	₩5,000	₩8,000
Age 65 and over	Free	₩5,000	₩5,000
Age 7–18	Free	₩2,500	₩2,500
Age 6 and under	Free	Free	Free

There is no group discount for the Secret Garden.
Wearing a hanbok (a jacket with a wrap collar plus a skirt or trousers) makes palace grounds entry free, but you still pay for the Secret Garden. What counts as a hanbok, and which palaces it works at: free palace entry in hanbok.
Changdeokgung’s palace grounds are now free every Wednesday (“Culture Day”), so you don’t need a palace grounds ticket that day. The Secret Garden is not included: you still need a paid Secret Garden ticket. Some official booking pages still say “last Wednesday of the month”; the official fee page says every Wednesday.
From October 29 to November 15, 2026 (Korea Grand Festival), palace grounds entry is free at the royal palaces, except on closing days. The Secret Garden is excluded, so you still need a Secret Garden ticket, and expect bigger crowds.

If you’re free for the palace grounds (under 19, 65 and over, in hanbok, or visiting on a Wednesday), you don’t need to book a palace grounds ticket. Bring proof, such as your passport, to the gate.

When is Changdeokgung closed?

Every Monday. If a Monday is a public holiday, the palace opens and closes on the next day that isn’t a holiday instead.

Palace opening hours (the Secret Garden has only the timed slots above):

Months	Open	Last entry
February–May, September–October	09:00–18:00	17:00
June–August	09:00–18:30	17:30
November–January	09:00–17:30	16:30

Viewing can also be stopped for bad weather or natural disasters. In that case you aren’t charged a penalty.

How do I book from abroad?

Go to the official Changdeokgung booking site (linked in Sources) and switch it to English. Book on the English page: it is the one that accepts foreign cards (Visa, Mastercard, JCB). The Korean page only accepts cards issued in Korea.
Join with your email address. It becomes your ID for booking, checking and cancelling, so use one you can read on your phone in Korea.
Pick the date, then an English slot (or any slot that suits you), then the ticket type and number. A number captcha appears before you confirm.
Pay in My Page within 24 hours, or the booking cancels itself. If you book the day before your visit, pay by 23:59 KST that day.
Book a palace grounds ticket for the same date on the same site, unless you’re free for it. It has no visitor cap, so it shouldn’t sell out.
Check the confirmation in My Page. The KakaoTalk booking alerts go only to people who booked on the Korean page, so don’t wait for a message.

Sign-up uses your email as the ID. If another Korean site asks for a local phone number, our guide to apps that work without a Korean number covers the other sign-ups you may need.

How do I get in on the day?

Mobile ticket: log in, open My Reservation, and show the ticket. It becomes active 30 minutes before your slot.
Paper ticket: give your booking number at the ticket office or use the ticket machine. The Korean guide says collect it at least 15 minutes before your entry time; the English booking page says 20 minutes, so aim for 20.
One booking gets either a paper or a mobile ticket, not both.
Allow about 15 minutes to walk from the palace gate to the Secret Garden entrance. If you’re late, you’re not let in and you don’t get a refund.

The two official pages disagree on screenshots. The Korean guide says a printed or captured QR code works, but the English booking page says a screenshot ticket isn’t valid. Open the live ticket from My Page to be safe. For getting to the palace, see Naver Map in English.

Our view: plan to be at the palace gate 30 minutes before your slot, not 15. You need the 15-minute walk, plus time to scan your palace grounds ticket, and in April–May or October–November there are queues at both the ticket office and the entrance.

Can I cancel or get a refund?

When you cancel	Refund
More than 2 hours before your entry time	Full refund
Within 2 hours before your entry time	90% (10% penalty, and the refund fee is taken off separately)
After your entry time	No refund

If you don’t cancel and don’t show up, the ticket counts as used. Reselling tickets is not allowed.

What if Secret Garden tickets are sold out?

Go on the day. Be at the ticket office before 9:00 a.m. to buy one of the 50 on-site places (up to 10 per person). Unsold online places are added to the on-site sale.
Try a Korean-language slot (see above) if English slots are full.
Check the booking site again before your date. Unpaid bookings cancel themselves after the 24-hour payment deadline, and paid bookings can be cancelled with a full refund until 2 hours before entry. The official site doesn’t say when those places reappear online — not officially confirmed, check before you go.
See the palace without the Secret Garden. The palace grounds have no visitor cap and you can buy that ticket at the gate.

Is there a combined palace pass?

Yes: the Integrated Palace Ticket costs ₩6,000 and covers one entry each to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo Shrine within 6 months of purchase. You buy it at the ticket office of any of those five sites. It does not include the Secret Garden: you still need a Secret Garden ticket, online or on the day. With the pass, you don’t need to book a palace grounds ticket; bring the pass to the gate.

Our view: for an adult visitor the pass pays off only if you visit at least three of the five. Changdeokgung (₩3,000), Gyeongbokgung (₩3,000) and one ₩1,000 site already add up to ₩7,000, more than the ₩6,000 pass. If you’ll only see Changdeokgung, pay ₩3,000 at the gate or online.

Walking on to Bukchon Hanok Village afterwards? Check the visiting hours and the red-zone curfew first: Bukchon Hanok Village hours.

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