On my first trip to Seoul, I made a point of doing what every first-timer does: visiting at least one of the city’s grand palaces. Although I checked off Gyeongbokgung, Seoul’s largest and most famous palace, first, what stuck with me even more was its secondary one: Changdeokgung Palace.
After hitting up both palaces, I’d argue that Changdeokgung is the more rewarding of the two for first-time visitors, if you have the time to do it properly. (And by that I mean adding in a tour through Huwon, the palace’s “secret garden.”)
Here’s what every first-timer should know about visiting Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, from how long to spend and what to see to admission/hours and how to get there…
Why Changdeokgung became the Joseon seat of power
King Taejong built Changdeokgung in 1405 as a secondary residence and a quieter alternative to Gyeongbokgung, his main palace, just a short walk away.
That changed after the 1592 Japanese invasion left Gyeongbokgung Palace in ruins. Changdeokgung was rebuilt first in 1610 and served as the Joseon dynasty’s working palace for the next 270 years. (More kings ruled from here than from Gyeongbokgung itself.)
Changdeokgung is also the only one of Seoul’s five grand palaces with UNESCO World Heritage status. Walking the grounds for the first time, I immediately saw why.
Instead of a rigid, symmetrical layout, the buildings follow the natural curve of the hillside, with an extensive garden folded behind them. It feels very different from Gyeongbokgung’s straight lines, which is exactly why it appealed more to me than Seoul’s other main royal palace.
How long do I need to visit Changdeokgung?
I’d budget close to three hours for a proper visit to Changdeokgung. The Huwon Secret Garden tour takes about 90 minutes, and it’s another 60 to 90 minutes to explore the halls themselves.
The amount of time needed to visit Huwon is clear-cut. It’s a guided tour, so you can’t work at your own pace. Sessions run 90 minutes, and visitors move at the group’s pace.
Visiting the halls is the more flexible part. Changdeokgung’s grounds are smaller than Gyeongbokgung’s. (And I’d budget about two hours for the latter.)
An hour to ninety minutes covers Injeongjeon, Seonjeongjeon, and the private quarters without feeling rushed.
Add neighboring Changgyeonggung, and your Changdeokgung itinerary inches closer to half a day.
What to see inside Changdeokgung Palace
Inside Injeongjeon and Seonjeongjeon
Injeongjeon is Changdeokgung’s throne hall. This building hosted several Joseon coronations and often hosted foreign envoys during the Joseon Era.
From the courtyard, Injeongjeon looks two stories tall. Step inside, though, and it’s one open room with a soaring ceiling.
Look closer at the interior of Injeongjeon, and you’ll spot something odd for a hall dating back to 1405: a wooden floor, glass windows, and electric light fixtures. Korea’s last king, Sunjong, had the hall retrofitted with European touches in 1908, late in the Japanese colonial takeover of the court.
The Joseon king ran the daily business of ruling his kingdom from Seonjeongjeon, located just next door. This was his real office, where he met with his ministers each morning.
Seonjeongjeon is also the only building left in Changdeokgung with a blue-glazed tile roof. Blue tile was so expensive at the time that only the hall where the king personally worked got one. (Everything else in the complex made do with grey.)
Behind the two main halls sit Huijeongdang and Daejojeon, the king and queen’s private quarters. Both residences burned down in a 1917 fire and had to be rebuilt by 1920.
But workers didn’t build Huijeongdang and Daejojeon from scratch. They tore down two matching royal residences at Gyeongbokgung and reassembled them here instead.
Huwon, Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden
As impressed as I was with its halls, what really sold me on Changdeokgung is Huwon, the palace’s “Secret Garden.” While tourist-brochure naming like this normally sets off my tourist-trap alarm bells, this one actually holds up.
Buyongji anchors the garden’s most photographed corner. This rectangular pond features a small round island at its center. The square represents earth, the circle represents heaven, which was a common motif in Joseon garden design. Lotus flowers cover the surface of Buyongji by mid-summer.
Above Buyongji Pond, a set of stone steps leads up to Juhamnu, a two-story pavilion King Jeongjo built in 1776. He kept his library and archives on the ground floor. It became Gyujanggak, the royal research institute. The upper floor was used as a royal reading room.
I’d pick Juhamnu over Buyongji if I had to choose just one place in the garden to stop for a breather. The climb through Eosumun Gate, leading to the pavilion, puts you above the pond rather than just beside it.
Deeper into the garden, don’t rush past Jondeokjeong. Its hexagonal roof stacks two tiers of eaves: a single-eave lower level under a double-eave upper one. Inside, carved dragons chase a jewel across the ceiling overhead.
Most of Huwon’s other pavilions get more photographs. Jondeojeong draws fewer visitors and rewards those who make the detour.
How to book a Huwon tour
Unfortunately, visitors can’t just wander into Huwon on their own. Entry is guided-tour-only, in a group capped at 100 people. The Huwon tour costs ₩5,000 on top of the ₩3,000 palace admission.
Half the spots go up online in advance. The other half sell at the gate the same day.
From March through November, there are around a dozen sessions spread through the day, four of them in English (10:30 am, 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 3:30 pm). Winter cuts that down to three English sessions, dropping the 3:30 pm session.
(I’d plan around that if visiting between December and February.)
In autumn, snagging a spot on a tour gets more competitive. Sessions during peak foliage weeks sell out within minutes of opening online. Showing up hoping to grab an on-site spot is a real gamble during that stretch. I’d book online as soon as your dates are firm to avoid disappointment.
PRO TIP: The route through Huwon isn’t flat. Some paths climb, and the ground can get uneven. If you have any mobility problems, I’d flag it with your guide before you start; there’s an earlier exit if you need to duck out.
Hours and admission
Changdeokgung is closed every Monday. If a holiday lands on a Monday, it closes the following weekday instead. Otherwise, the palace opens at 9 am and closes between 5:30 pm in winter and 6:30 pm in summer. Last admission is an hour before closing.
Regular admission to Changdeokgung is ₩3,000. Add the Huwon tour, and it’s ₩8,000 total.
Planning to hit more than two palaces on your trip? The Royal Palace Pass covers Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, and Gyeongbokgung plus Jongmyo Shrine for ₩6,000. The ticket is valid for six months.
(NOTE: The Royal Palace Pass doesn’t cover Huwon, which always needs its own ticket.)
PRO TIP: Like other Seoul palaces, showing up in a rented hanbok gets you free admission to Changdeokgung itself, though not to Huwon. Rental shops cluster around Anguk Station, a few minutes from the entrance.
Should you also visit Changgyeonggung?
If you’ve got energy left after Huwon, Changgyeonggung Palace sits right next door, connected by its own gate near the garden’s exit. You’ll need a separate ticket unless you picked up the combo covering both palaces.
Changgyeonggung Palace has a rougher history than its neighbor. During the Japanese occupation, colonial officials didn’t tear the palace down the way they did parts of Gyeongbokgung.
Instead, the invaders turned it into a zoo and botanical garden. It was a deliberate move to strip the royal palace of its dignity. Changgyeonggung wasn’t restored to palace status until 1983.
That history also means Changgyeonggung has something none of Seoul’s other grand palaces can claim: a handful of buildings that predate the 20th century and were never leveled.
I wouldn’t build a whole day around exploring Changgyeonggung, but as a 20-minute add-on after Huwon, I’d say it’s worth the extra ticket.
How to get there
As it’s clustered among many of Seoul’s top points of interest, getting to Changdeokgung is simple. Take Line 3 to Anguk Station and leave through Exit 3. It’s about a five-minute walk east along Yulgok-ro to the palace entrance, past the hanbok rental shops clustered near the station.
