10,000-won passes to five palaces in Seoul go on sale

The K-Royal Culture Festival takes place in central Seoul. (Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation)

Tickets went on sale Monday for Seoul’s late-April spring festival, which will include exhibitions and performances across the city’s five palaces.

The tickets to the K-Royal Culture Festival cost 10,000 won ($7.5) and will be sold through April 26, according to the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation. Tickets will be available at the following websites: seoultravelpass.com; travelnote.net; trippose.com; klook.com and kkday.com.

Tickets for the 9-day event starting April 27 allow unlimited access to the Joseon-era (1392-1910) palaces: Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Gyeonghuigung. The palaces will also be the venues for different events, from craft exhibitions to flea markets.

During the festival, ticket holders can visit the palaces as many times as they want and do not have to pay for admission to each palace. The palaces normally do not allow repeat visits on one ticket in a single day.

Upon purchasing the tickets online, visitors can pick up their passes at the ticket booths at the palaces, except for Gyeonghuigung. Pickup is also available at Terminal 1 at Incheon Airport.

On-site ticket purchases will open from April 27 to May 5 at the four palace booths, provided that there are remaining passes after online sales have finished.

Ticket holders can get discounts on select items, including drinks at the palaces, and at Incheon Airport and Korea House. Discounts will also be offered for tickets to the musical “The Tribe” at the Sejong Center. Tickets also include 3,000 won that can be used on subways and buses that accept Tmoney prepaid cards.

The biannual festival, which will open again in October, has taken place for the last 10 years. To mark this milestone, English language options were introduced in collaboration with the ticket-selling platforms, according to the officials organizing the event.

Building upon last year’s popularity, a total of 10,000 tickets will be on offer for this year's festival, up from just 1,000 in 2023.