Elena walks Donggwol Dongnak: four plays and their interludes, from Changgyeonggung to the rear garden of Changdeokgung

At 1:55 pm on Thursday 5 November, Elena sat at a café window with her phone propped up in front of her and her notebook open. The notebook has a section kept for scene directions alone. Elena, 27 and from Spain, divides every place into stages as she reads it and writes her camera directions in square brackets. The first line on today’s new page was “[Night — Palace, 4 Acts]”. She left the four lines under it blank and waited for the clock to reach two.

What Elena was waiting for was a ticket to Donggwol Dongnak, which runs from 10 to 15 November. Donggwol was what Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung were collectively called in the Joseon period. Donggwol Dongnak is a night-time walking programme that the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center and the Korea Heritage Agency hold in these two palaces. It ran last year too, and this year the places are allocated by lottery. You listen to commentary, watch short plays, and then have time to wander the rear gardens of both palaces on your own. Reading that the plays are staged in four places, Elena decided to read the night as a four-act show.

When the clock on her phone reached 14:00, the remaining seats went on sale. Elena did not take long to choose a date and a session. She picked Thursday 12 November, the first session, which starts at 6 pm. She paid, turned the screen off, and wrote “[Ticket secured]” next to the first line. How to spend the daytime, she decided, could wait for that evening’s notebook.

Elena is going to Changgyeonggung, at 185 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Check-in for the event is at Honghwamun, and you leave by the same gate. On the Changdeokgung side, you only pass through Hamyangmun and Yeongchunmun on the way across. The nearest station is Hyehwa on Line 4. This piece follows Elena’s night in order: getting the ticket, the check-in desk, the four plays, the way across to the rear garden of Changdeokgung, and the supper in the Grand Greenhouse.

The Cue — At a glance

Donggwol Dongnak is a night programme held at Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung for six days, from Tuesday 10 to Sunday 15 November 2026. There are four sessions a day (starting at 18:00, 18:30, 19:00 and 19:30), each with 50 people and lasting about 110 minutes. Tickets are 40,000 won each. Remaining seats went on general sale at 14:00 on Thursday 5 November (booking for the first night, 10 November, closes at 17:00 on Monday 9 November). Check-in, entry and exit are all at Honghwamun, Changgyeonggung, a 12-minute walk from Hyehwa Station (Line 4) Exit 4. On these six days, daytime visiting at Changgyeonggung ends at 17:30. From 29 October to 15 November the four grand palaces are free to enter, apart from the special Huwon tour at Changdeokgung and closing days.

How do I get a ticket? — general sale of remaining seats opened on Thursday 5 November at 14:00

General sale of the remaining seats opened at 14:00 on Thursday 5 November 2026. The booking deadline for the first night, 10 November, is the day before, 17:00 on Monday 9 November. Seats go first come, first served, so whoever taps first gets the session. The lottery entry period (22 to 28 October) and the winners’ priority booking (until 23:59 on Wednesday 4 November) are over, and the seats left then moved to the remaining-seats sale.

Open in Kakao Map — Hyehwa Station

Priority booking had one more rule. Winners chose their date and session first come, first served, and if they missed the payment deadline the win was cancelled. A winner who has paid cannot join the remaining-seats sale, because the number of tickets per ID is capped.

A ticket is 40,000 won, and one ID can buy up to 2. Anyone going with a friend can put both tickets in the basket at once. Payment is by credit card only. Bank deposits and account transfers are not accepted. Booking is on Ticketlink. Elena had a logged-in screen open from five minutes to two.

People aged 65 or over, people with disabilities and national merit holders can also book by phone. Phone booking also began at 14:00 on the same day, 5 November, on the Ticketlink phone line (1588-7890). It is open 10:00–19:00 on weekdays and closed at weekends and on public holidays. People with disabilities of grades 1 to 3 get a 50% discount for themselves and one companion. Those with grades 4 to 6, and national merit holders, get it for themselves only.

You have to choose the discounted ticket type when you book. You cannot buy a general ticket and claim the discount at the venue, and there is no refund of the difference. Bring your disability welfare card, national patriots and veterans registration card or certificate of national merit as proof. Cancel before the cut-off time on the afternoon of the day before the event and you get a full refund. After that time you can neither cancel nor change, so check the cut-off time on the booking screen before you go.

With four sessions a day for six days, there are 24 sessions in all, with 50 people in each. The session Elena chose, the first on Thursday 12 November, starts at 18:00. Her notebook gave the reason as “[Session 1 — check-in 17:40, daytime visiting ends 17:30, 10 minutes between]”. What those 10 minutes mean comes a little later.

Which exit? — Hyehwa Station Exit 4, then 12 minutes on foot to Honghwamun

Check-in is in front of Honghwamun, a 12-minute walk from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center spells the route out like this: “Exit 4 (300 m straight on towards Sungkyunkwan University, then Changgyeonggung, 300 m straight on towards Jongno)”. It is confusing at first, so enter the address in a map app before you leave the exit.

You can also come by bus. Get off at “Seoul National University Hospital” at the central-lane stop, on the Jongno-bound side. Buses 100, 102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 140, 143, 150, 151, 160, 162, 171, 172, 272, 301 and 710 stop there. At “Changgyeonggung · Seoul National University Hospital”, buses 151, 171, 172, 272 and 601 stop. After getting off, keep walking towards Honghwamun at Changgyeonggung.

The Changgyeonggung car park is not available. It has been provisionally closed from 5 January 2025 to 31 December 2026 because of the Donhwamun repair work and the excavation of the Gwolnaegaksa site. So public transport is the way to go, and Elena took Line 4 too. While the list of bus routes may look long, there are really only two stop names: “Seoul National University Hospital” and “Changgyeonggung · Seoul National University Hospital”. Thinking she would walk the route once in daylight, Elena got off at Hyehwa Station well before check-in time on purpose.

Is it free in the daytime? — free entry 29 October to 15 November, but Changgyeonggung closes at 17:30 on the six event days

The palaces are free in the daytime during this period. From Thursday 29 October to Sunday 15 November is the “Korea Grand Festival period free admission”. It covers the four grand palaces, Jongmyo and the Joseon royal tombs, and that includes Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung. In other words, you can walk into Changgyeonggung in the daytime without a Donggwol Dongnak ticket. The daytime on the six event days is free too, but the gates close earlier than usual.

There are two exceptions: the special Huwon tour at Changdeokgung, and regular closing days. The regular closing day at Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung is Monday, so they close on Mondays in this period too. If a regular closing day falls on a public or substitute holiday, though, the palace opens. The Changdeokgung Huwon is a separately booked course. Korean-language commentary sessions from November to February run on the hour, from 10:00 to 15:00.

If you want to see the Changdeokgung Huwon by day, it helps to check when booking opens. Online booking is first come, first served, from 10:00 six days before the visit date, excluding the day itself, until the day before. On the day, tickets are also sold on site from 9 am. October and November are the seasons when both online and on-site tickets sell out very fast. Each Huwon tour takes 100 people, so if you want to walk the Huwon by day, check Huwon tickets before you settle on a Donggwol Dongnak date.

On the six days of Donggwol Dongnak, Changgyeonggung’s daytime visiting hours are shorter. Normally Changgyeonggung is open until 21:00, with last entry at 20:00. From Tuesday 10 to Sunday 15 November there is no general evening visiting, and daytime visiting ends at 17:30. Last entry is 16:30. If you miss that Changgyeonggung closes at 17:30 even in the free period, you will arrive for an evening visit and be turned away at the gate.

Now one line in Elena’s notebook makes sense. Daytime visiting ends at 17:30, and check-in for session 1 begins at 17:40. The event notice gives the same order. If you are visiting in general hours before check-in time, you leave Changgyeonggung when general visiting ends and come back to the ticket-check desk within the check-in window. Elena liked this order and wrote “[17:30 out → 17:40 check-in — the 10 minutes where the cut changes]”.

This is how Elena built her daytime. She would get off early at Hyehwa Station, walk to Honghwamun, and take a look at the check-in spot where she would be queuing that night. Then she walks inside Changgyeonggung and comes out at closing time. If you stop by once in the daytime, you won’t lose your way when you come back to the same gate at night. A new line appeared in her notebook: “[Daytime — rehearsal]”.

Where do I check in and how do I get in? — the ticket-check desk in front of Honghwamun, from 20 minutes before your session

There is one check-in place, the ticket-check desk in front of Honghwamun. From 20 minutes before a session starts, the person who booked comes in person to have their identity checked. Session 1 is 17:40–18:00, session 2 is 18:10–18:30, session 3 is 18:40–19:00 and session 4 is 19:10–19:30. Entry is restricted once 20 minutes have passed since the start, so arrive by the start time at the latest.

Your identity is checked at the ticket-check desk, so be sure to bring ID. There is no physical ticket. The person who booked must enter, and passing the ticket on to someone else is not allowed. Between family members, a ticket can be passed on as an exception if you bring ID and proof of the family relationship (a resident registration certificate or a family relation certificate). No tickets are sold on site, and all booking is done in advance.

Be sure to check the age rules too. The programme is for ages 7 and over, that is, those born in 2019 or earlier. School-age children and teenagers (born 2007–2019) can enter only with a guardian. Pre-school children (born 2020 or later) cannot take part, for safety reasons, since it is an evening event. If you are going with children, check their birth years before you book.

This is a programme you walk through, so using a toilet after it starts is difficult. That is why the notice advises going before you enter. The entire palace is a non-smoking area, and outside food and flammable items are not allowed. Flash and tripods are banned during the event. Before joining the check-in queue, Elena wrote “[Toilet — go before the start]” in her notebook and did exactly that.

There is also a notice about filming. On the day, press or broadcast crews may be present, and you may be filmed without individual notice. Photos and videos taken during the event may be used in promotion, research and publications for palace programmes. If you would rather not have your face in a photo, it helps to know this beforehand. Elena copied that sentence small at the bottom of the page.

If you use a wheelchair or have difficulty moving around, get in touch beforehand. You can arrange your route in advance with the operations office, and you can be guided along a separate route that follows the wheelchair paths and ramps inside the palace. For enquiries, call the palace programme phone line on 1522-2295. During the peak season (31 August to 16 November) it takes calls 09:30–20:30 on weekdays, except Mondays. For booking enquiries, contact Ticketlink (1588-7890).

Act one at Myeongjeongjeon, act two at Tongmyeongjeon — crossing Okcheongyo as an apprentice court painter

The first two stages are Myeongjeongjeon and Tongmyeongjeon, inside Changgyeonggung. In this programme you are an apprentice court painter, ordered by King Heonjong to complete the Donggwoldo, the painting of the Eastern Palaces, and you walk through the two palaces. The commentary is given by a court painter of the Dohwaseo, the Joseon-era office in charge of painting. The poster lists the guided tour in this order: ① Okcheongyo, ② Myeongjeongjeon, ③ Tongmyeongjeon, ④ Uiduhap, ⑤ Chundangji.

Before setting off, Elena read the subtitle on the poster again. It is “Donggwol Hwadam”, and under it runs the line “Walking through a canvas of time, between Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung”. A canvas is the cloth or paper a picture is painted on. It means walking inside a painting, and for Elena, who looks at scenes one cut at a time, it was a fitting subtitle. She copied the subtitle down and added “[One cut = one panel]” beside it.

The first play is “The Curtain of Time, Heonjong’s Command”, at Myeongjeongjeon. Elena laughed when she saw that the title has the word for a curtain, mak, in it, because it was the same mak as the act in the “[Night — Palace, 4 Acts]” she had written herself. The details of the play are best experienced in person on the night. Elena wrote down only this one direction for this stage: “[Act 1 — Myeongjeongjeon, where the command comes down]”.

The second play is “Blossoming from Filial Devotion: the Royal Banquet”, at Tongmyeongjeon. From the name alone, it has a very different tone from the first act. If Myeongjeongjeon was the place where orders are received, the title read like a place that holds the feelings of a person. Elena put that difference into one line: “[Act 2 — Tongmyeongjeon, where the heart sets the table]”. She also noted the official statement that the plays are original works adapted and staged from real historical figures.

Wrap up warmly, too. On a late-autumn night you will be walking for about 110 minutes, so comfortable shoes and warm layers are best. Elena came out of her lodgings with a thin knit under her coat. She had already written a line in her notebook: “[Between acts 2 and 3 — walking, cold, still walking]”.

Through Hamyangmun towards Uiduhap — the crown prince’s poem, the palace dance, and the normally shut Yeongchunmun

From the third stage, Uiduhap, you are on the Changdeokgung side. The boundary between Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung is Hamyangmun. The poster describes the apprentice court painter touring the main halls of Changgyeonggung, then passing through Hamyangmun and on into the rear garden of Changdeokgung. So the night becomes a single walk through both palaces. When you leave, though, you go back to the gate you came in by.

The third play is “The Crown Prince’s Poem, the Palace’s Dance”, at Uiduhap. With poem and dance in one title, this was the one act for which Elena split her brackets into two lines: “[Act 3 — Uiduhap / a poem without sound]” and “[Act 3 — Uiduhap / a dance with sound]”. She was only imagining from the title, so she wrote the two lines lightly in pencil on purpose. What actually appears in the act she would rewrite after seeing it.

There is also free-viewing time this night. In it, you can go through Yeongchunmun, which is normally not open, and move between the rear gardens of Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung. The gate lies in an area that is usually closed, so you can pass through it only on these six event days. The poster also says “through Yeongchunmun, which joins the two palaces”. This is the gate you will pass through when returning from the Changdeokgung rear garden to Changgyeonggung.

Passing through Yeongchunmun, Elena’s steps slowed of their own accord. The fact that this gate is normally shut felt like a scene change at the moment she crossed the threshold. A new direction appeared in her notebook for that instant: “[Cut — cross the gate, keep the sound low]”. It took a few seconds to pass through one gate, but Elena counted those few seconds as the scene that would stay longest of the night.

Aeryeonji and Buyongji — a free walk through the rear garden, gugak at Yeonghwadang and photos with the actors

The free-viewing route includes Aeryeonji and Buyongji. The main route runs Honghwamun – Okcheongyo – Myeongjeongjeon – Tongmyeongjeon – Uiduhap – Aeryeonji – Buyongji – Grand Greenhouse – Chundangji – Honghwamun. After Uiduhap comes Aeryeonji, then Buyongji. The notice adds that you can wander the rear garden freely and enjoy the mood of a late-autumn night. What differs from the earlier stretch is that you walk at your own pace, without set commentary.

In the rear garden you can hear gugak, Korean traditional music, played at Yeonghwadang. Here and there are actors recreating daily life in the royal household, and you can have your photo taken with them. Elena hesitated for a long time over whether to have one taken with an actor. In the end she glanced over and walked past, keeping only one picture on her phone, of the pondside. Flash and tripods are not allowed at this event, so it helps to practise taking photos without extra light.

At the edge of the pond, Elena stopped completely. In the earlier acts she had been busy following what she was told and what she saw, but here nobody told her what the next scene was. Elena thought that gap was the interlude of this programme. If the four acts are stages, the time spent walking between them is the scene she had thought the camera was off for. In her notebook she wrote “[Interlude — three minutes when nobody gives directions]”.

Resting in the Grand Greenhouse at Changgyeonggung — a warm shelter, five sweets and a cup of tea, with the tumbler as a keepsake

After the rear garden comes the Grand Greenhouse. It was built as part of the botanical garden when the Japanese reduced Changgyeonggung to “Changgyeongwon”. A mixed steel-and-timber frame with glass, it is the first Western-style greenhouse in Korea. Offering a rare glimpse into Korea’s early modern architecture, it is designated a Registered Cultural Heritage. If the night cold gets to you, you can step into the warm shelter of the Grand Greenhouse and rest for a while.

A supper is served in the shelter in the Grand Greenhouse. It includes five traditional sweets with a modern twist, served with hot tea. The sweets are a baked schisandra jeungpyeon rice cake, a mugwort bean-paste cookie, a black sesame dasik cookie, a milk gangjeong and a piece of jocheong yakgwa. The tea is magnolia-flower tea, and this set is per person. The tumbler is yours to keep as a keepsake rather than returned.

The sweets may be eaten only inside the shelter. So don’t carry them outside, but sit in the shelter and take your time. Elena wrote the five names in a column on one side of her notebook: “[Supper — schisandra, mugwort, black sesame, milk, jocheong]”. Reading the names alone divided the page into five boxes, and she called that page the list of scenes she liked best that day.

The fourth play is “Martial Arts and Elegant Pleasures Spread Out”, at Chundangji. If the first three plays were held at Myeongjeongjeon, Tongmyeongjeon and Uiduhap, the last one is held at a place named after a pond. On the route, Chundangji comes after the Grand Greenhouse. Elena walked to the last act with the tumbler from the greenhouse held in both hands, and the warmth on her palms became the one direction she had left: “[Act 4 — Chundangji, hands warm and ears open]”.

Leaving by Honghwamun — out through the gate you came in by, and what happens if it rains

When act four ends, you go back out through Honghwamun, where you came in. There is no way out through a Changdeokgung gate. A session lasts about 110 minutes, so session 1, starting at 18:00, ends around 20:00. The closer Elena came to the gate, the slower her steps became.

Common Mistakes

• 01

  Thinking the lottery is still open

  the entry period (22 to 28 October) is over. General sale of the remaining seats (first come, first served) opened at 14:00 on Thursday 5 November. The deadline for the first night (10 November) is 17:00 on Monday 9 November.

• 02

  Heading for Donhwamun at Changdeokgung

  check-in, entry and exit for this event are all at Honghwamun, Changgyeonggung.

• 03

  Thinking free entry means general evening visiting too

  from 10 to 15 November, general visiting at Changgyeonggung ends at 17:30, and there is no general evening visiting.

• 04

  Thinking free entry includes the Changdeokgung Huwon

  the special Huwon tour is excluded from the free period. You book it separately.

• 05

  Buying a general ticket and asking for the discount on the spot

  you must choose the discounted ticket type when booking. It cannot be applied on site, and the difference is not refunded.

• 06

  Looking for a toilet after the start

  it is hard on a walking programme. Go before you enter.

FAQ

Recap — 30 seconds before you go