Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond 동궁과 월지

Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond is open every day 09:00–22:00, with tickets sold until 21:30. Entry is ₩3,000 for adults, and it is Gyeongju’s best-known night view: rebuilt Silla pavilions lit up and reflected in a large garden pond. Arrive around sunset, not near the cut-off, and allow under an hour. From the KTX station, take city bus 710.

The pond was dug in 674 and the crown prince’s palace beside it was built in 679, after Silla unified the peninsula. For centuries the ruins were known as Anapji, the pond of geese and ducks. Since 2011 the site has used its Silla names again. It belongs to the Wolseong area of the UNESCO-listed Gyeongju Historic Areas.

When to go: day or night?

Go in the evening. That is when almost everyone comes, and the reason the pond is famous. Get there a little before sunset, walk the path while it is still light, and stay until the pavilions are lit. A daytime visit is quieter and shows the garden layout better, but most first-time visitors prefer the night.

Hours	Every day 09:00–22:00; ticket sales end 21:30
Adults (19–64)	3,000 won
Youth (13–18)	2,000 won
Children (7–12)	1,000 won
Free	Age 6 and under, 65 and over, people with disabilities
Parking	Free car park at the site
Time needed	40 minutes to 1 hour

Hours and fees from Gyeongju City’s tourism pages, with the same hours on VisitKorea, checked 23 October 2026. Gyeongju City notes that so many people come for the night view that entry can be hard if you arrive close to the ticket cut-off. If you are 65 or over, carry your passport in case you are asked to show your age.

What you see

• The pond. Wolji is about 200 m east to west and 180 m north to south. Its south and west banks are straight, but the north and east banks wind in and out, so the whole pond can never be seen from one spot. Gyeongju City’s heritage page says it was dug with three islands and twelve small hills along the banks.
• The pavilions. Excavation from 1975 found 26 building sites and around 24,000 objects. In 1980 three buildings on the west bank were rebuilt, including the hall thought to be Imhaejeon, the palace’s banquet hall. Its name means “hall overlooking the sea”, a hint that the pond was made to look like the sea.
• A royal banquet hall. Silla kings held feasts here for state celebrations and foreign guests. In 931, King Gyeongsun, Silla’s last king, hosted Wang Geon, the founder of Goryeo, here.
• The walk. A path runs around the pond past the rebuilt pavilions. The lights come on at dusk.
• Seasons. Gyeongju City lists lotus ponds around the site that fill with flowers in summer. VisitKorea mentions spring flowers and pink muhly grass in autumn around the palace grounds.

Gyeongju National Museum, about 0.5 km south along the road, makes a good daytime visit before the pond.

Getting there

From	Bus	Get off / walk
Gyeongju Station (KTX)	City bus 710	동궁과월지 (Donggung and Wolji), the 18th stop; about 200 m to the site
Express and intercity bus terminals	City bus 11 from the 고속버스.시외버스터미널 stop	동궁과월지, 9 stops later
Daereungwon	Bus 710 from the 천마총후문.황리단길 stop	동궁과월지, 3 stops; or walk about 1.3 km past Cheomseongdae
Bulguksa	City bus 10 from the 불국사 stop	동궁과월지, 20 stops; about 150 m to the site
Back to Gyeongju Station	Bus 710 from the 동궁과월지 stop for the opposite direction	16 stops to the station

Stop orders, first and last buses and stop coordinates from Gyeongju City’s live bus system; distances are straight-line from those coordinates, checked 23 October 2026.

• Bus 710 is not frequent. It leaves Gyeongju Station between 06:30 and 20:46, with gaps of 50–60 minutes. Check the live times, or take a taxi, especially for the trip back after dark.
• Buses 10 and 11 are the Bulguksa loop buses. Bus 11 leaves the terminal side between 06:15 and 22:00 and bus 10 between 06:00 and 21:40, every 20–50 minutes. Bus 11 passes Donggung on its way out to Bulguksa, bus 10 on its way back.
• On foot. In the evening it is easy to walk from Daereungwon past Cheomseongdae, which is about 0.7 km west of the pond.
• Fares. A city bus ride is 1,500 won, or 50 won less with a transport card.

By car, use the Donggung and Wolji car park next to the site, which Gyeongju City lists as free.

Tips

• Pair it with the tombs. See Daereungwon and Cheomseongdae in the late afternoon, then walk east to the pond as it gets dark. Both Daereungwon and the pond stay open until 22:00.
• Don’t cut it fine. Ticket sales end at 21:30, and queues on busy nights can make that too late.
• Bring a jacket for autumn and winter evenings by the water.
• Have a plan for the ride back. Bus 710 runs about once an hour. If you stay near the KTX station rather than in the centre, a taxi is the simple option late in the evening.
• Stay central. For one night in Gyeongju, a hanok guesthouse near Hwangnidan-gil puts the pond and the tombs within walking distance.

Around Donggung and Wolji

The pond sits at the eastern end of central Gyeongju, with the national museum to the south, Cheomseongdae and Gyochon Hanok Village to the west and Daereungwon beyond. For Bulguksa, trains and where to stay, see the Gyeongju guide and the Gyeongsang region page. For Korea’s other royal sites, see palaces, and for a route that adds Gyeongju between Seoul and Busan, see Korea in 7 days.