Seoul Palace Hours · About

About this site

It exists to answer one question that English-language sources get wrong: is a Seoul palace open on the day you are actually there?

The problem it solves

Guides say Gyeongbokgung closes on Tuesdays. That is true until a Korean public holiday falls on one — then the palace opens, and Korea Heritage Service moves the closure to the first following non-holiday day. Because Seollal and Chuseok follow the lunar calendar and drag substitute holidays behind them, the displaced date is different every year and appears on no calendar.

On Thursday 19 February 2026, all five sites are closed. A visitor reading any English guide would arrive to locked gates.

How it is built

Opening hours and the closing-day rule come from Korea Heritage Service. Public holidays come from Korea's official calendar, published by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute — the authority for the lunar dates that drive everything. The site multiplies the two and shows the result, with the reasoning visible on every date rather than hidden.

Nothing is scraped from other travel sites, and no page is written to fill space. The closure logic is covered by an automated test suite, because a tool whose only claim is accuracy has to be able to prove it.

What it does not claim

It computes scheduled closures. Palaces also close for state ceremonies, restoration and severe weather, and those are announced ad hoc with no advance dataset. Holiday dates for the year ahead are provisional until the government confirms them, and the site labels them as such rather than quietly presenting a guess as fact.

This is an independent project, not affiliated with the Republic of Korea or any palace administration. Corrections are welcome — see Contact.