Jongmyo Shrine 종묘

Jongmyo costs ₩1,000 (free on Wednesdays and in hanbok) and is closed on Tuesdays. On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays you can only enter on a guided tour of about 50 minutes, with English tours at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00. On Wednesdays, weekends and public holidays you walk around on your own. Allow about an hour.

Jongmyo is the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon dynasty, where the spirit tablets of its kings and queens and of the emperors and empresses of the Korean Empire are kept and honoured with Confucian rites. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are no palaces or gardens here, just a wooded compound and two very long, plain wooden halls, and it is one of the quietest major sights in Seoul. It sits at the southern end of the palace quarter, so it combines easily with Changdeokgung and the other Seoul palaces.

Which day to go

The day of the week decides how you visit, so pick the day first.

Day	How you visit	English tour	Admission
Monday, Thursday, Friday	Timed guided entry only	10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00	₩1,000
Wednesday	Walk around freely	10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 (optional)	Free
Sunday	Walk around freely	10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 (optional)	₩1,000
Saturday, public holidays	Walk around freely	None (Korean tours only)	₩1,000
Tuesday	Closed	–	–

Day rules and tour times from the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center’s hours, tour and fee pages, checked 17 October 2026. Want the background in English? Go on a Monday, Thursday or Friday and join a tour. Prefer to wander at your own pace? Go on a Wednesday, when entry is also free.

Every Wednesday has been a free-entry Culture Day since October 2026; before that it was only the last Wednesday of the month, so older guides are out of date. The shrine also switches to free viewing at short notice for festivals, holidays and severe weather. In July and August 2026 it was self-guided all week because of the heat. Check the notices on the official site before a weekday visit.

Opening hours and admission

Months	Opening hours	Last entry
February–May, September–October	09:00–18:00	17:00
June–August	09:00–18:30	17:30
November–January	09:00–17:30	16:30

Hours from the official 관람시간 page, checked 17 October 2026. These hours apply to free-viewing days. On guided days you can only go in at a tour start time. Korean tours start every hour from 09:20 to 16:20 (plus 16:40 from March to September). Japanese tours start at 09:40, 11:40, 13:40 and 15:40, and Chinese tours at 11:00 and 15:00.

Admission for foreign visitors aged 19–64 is ₩1,000. It is free for foreign visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and over, and for anyone in hanbok. Jongmyo is also included in the ₩6,000 integrated palace ticket, which is valid for six months and covers Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung (not the Secret Garden), Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung as well. You can buy it at the Jongmyo ticket office.

How the guided tours work

• No booking for small groups. Under 10 people, just arrive at the main gate, Oedaemun, a few minutes before a start time. Each session takes up to 200 people: 100 booked online and 100 walk-ups.
• Groups of 10 or more must book online, from 30 days to 3 days before the visit.
• Foreign-language tours are for foreign visitors. Korean nationals can join only when they are with a foreign visitor.
• Ask before you record. Filming the guide or recording their commentary needs the guide’s consent.
• Weather can cut the tour short. When a weather advisory is in force, the shrine switches to free viewing and tours are shortened or cancelled.
• No foreign-language tours on public holidays. Only five Korean tours run, at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00.

See tours and activities in Korea for the English palace tours at the other palaces.

What you see

The tour route follows the raised stone path from the main gate past the king’s preparation hall and the ritual kitchen to the two shrine halls, then loops back.

• Jeongjeon (Main Hall) – the main shrine hall, about 101 m long and divided into 19 chambers that hold 49 spirit tablets of kings and queens. In front lies a broad stone platform used for the royal rites.
• Yeongnyeongjeon – a second, smaller hall of 16 chambers built in 1421 for tablets moved out of the main hall; it now holds 34.
• Gongsindang – a hall honouring meritorious subjects who served the kings.
• The stone path (Sindo) – the slightly raised middle lane was reserved for the spirits. Walk on the lower paths on either side.
• Jaegung, Jeonsacheong and Hyangdaecheong – where the king prepared for the rites, where the ritual food was cooked, and where incense and written prayers were stored.
• Mangmyoru – the officials’ pavilion near the gate, beside a pond.

Getting there

Take Line 1 to Jongno 3-ga Station and use Exit 11, or take Line 3 or 5 to the same station and use Exit 8. The main gate on Jong-ro is about five minutes’ walk. Buses stop at Jongno 4-ga · Jongmyo in the central bus lane. A tap with a T-money card pays the subway fare; see the Seoul subway guide for how to ride. There is no shrine car park; the nearest is the paid Jongmyo public car park run by Jongno-gu. The address for taxis is 서울 종로구 종로 157.

On free-viewing days a second gate, Buksinmun, is also open on Yulgok-ro at the northern edge of the shrine. Changgyeonggung’s own Yulgok-ro gate is open at weekends and on public holidays, so a weekend is the easiest time to pair Jongmyo with Changgyeonggung.

Tips for visiting

• Pair it with the market. Gwangjang Market is a short walk east along Jong-ro. A 10:00 or 12:00 English tour leaves time for lunch there afterwards.
• Plan around Tuesday. Jongmyo and Gyeongbokgung both close on Tuesdays; Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung close on Mondays instead.
• It is a shrine, not a park. Alcohol, picnic mats, camping gear and pets (except assistance dogs) are not allowed, food may only be eaten in designated areas, and the whole site is non-smoking.
• Wear comfortable shoes. The paths are gravel and uneven stone, and the tour is on foot for about 50 minutes.
• Watch the royal rite. The Jongmyo Jerye rite, with its court music, is a UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is held on the first Sunday of May (3 May in 2026) and draws large crowds.

History in brief

King Taejo built Jongmyo in 1395, soon after founding the Joseon dynasty, following the rule that the ancestral shrine stands to the east of the main palace and the Altar of Land and Grain to the west. The main hall started with seven chambers. Yeongnyeongjeon was added in 1421, and the halls were extended several times as the line of kings grew, reaching today’s 19 and 16 chambers in 1836.

The shrine burned during the Japanese invasion of 1592 and was rebuilt in 1608. The royal rites stopped in 1945 and were revived in 1969. The shrine joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, and the rite and its music were inscribed by UNESCO in 2001. The main hall was closed for its largest repair in about 30 years from 2020. On 20 April 2025 the 49 tablets, kept at Changdeokgung during the work, were carried back in procession, the first such ceremony since 1870.