Seoul Changdeokgung Secret Garden Booking Guide, Ticket Purchase, and Autumn Foliage Tour
Seoul is a popular autumn destination for viewing fall foliage, with numerous famous spots within the city. Among them, the rear garden (Huwon) of Changdeokgung Palace, known as the Secret Garden (Biwon), is a must-visit hidden spot for maple leaf viewing. However, as the Changdeokgung Secret Garden is a cultural heritage site, the number of daily visitors is limited, and entry is only permitted with a guided tour. Therefore, to enter and explore Changdeokgung’s secret garden and see the autumn leaves, you must book a guided tour ticket in advance.
Tickets for the Changdeokgung Secret Garden guided tour can be purchased through the official website. The website is available in Korean and English, and the booking process is not difficult. In my 2013 Seoul autumn foliage travelogue, I briefly introduced the online booking method for Secret Garden tour tickets. Here, I intend to provide a more complete and detailed guide in a separate article.
Article Contents
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Changdeokgung Huwon Guided Tour Times, Ticket Prices, and Sale Period
The maximum number of participants per Changdeokgung Huwon guided tour session is 100. Half of these spots are available for online purchase, meaning 50 spots, while the remaining 50 are reserved for on-site purchase. So, if you cannot buy the ticket for your desired tour session online, you can try your luck at the on-site ticket office on the day.
1. Tour Schedule
There are 10 to 12 Secret Garden tour sessions daily. From March to November each year, there are 12 sessions daily, including 4 sessions with English commentary, 7 sessions with Korean commentary (with two sessions reserved for groups on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays), and 1 session with Mandarin Chinese or Japanese commentary. During the winter period from December to February, two sessions are reduced daily, including one English session and one Korean session.
Additionally, except for special holidays, Changdeokgung is closed every Monday. If Monday is a public holiday, it will be closed on the immediately following business day.
The following is the Secret Garden tour timetable:
2. Ticket Sale Time
The rule for the online ticket sale opening time is that tickets for any given day become available starting at 10:00 AM (Korea Time) 6 days in advance. For example, to purchase a tour ticket for November 7, 2024, the earliest you can buy it on the official website is at 10:00 AM on November 1, 2024 (Korea Time).
Previously, when booking tour tickets, pre-payment was not required; the ticket fee was paid when picking up the ticket at the outdoor ticket office on the day. However, this practice changed in 2019. Now, when booking on the official website, payment must be completed in advance, so it is no longer just a reservation but an actual purchase.
3. Ticket Prices
Changdeokgung tickets are divided into two types: General Admission tickets and Secret Garden (Huwon) tickets. The General Admission ticket allows entry to Changdeokgung Palace but not to the Secret Garden. Since the Secret Garden is located within Changdeokgung, if you participate in the Secret Garden guided tour, you need to purchase both the Secret Garden ticket and the General Admission ticket.
Ticket prices are categorized into Adults (19~64 years old), Youth (7~18 years old), and Seniors (65 years old and above). General Admission is free for Seniors and Youth, but if they wish to join the Secret Garden guided tour, they need to purchase a Secret Garden ticket. The price for Adults and Seniors is 5,000 KRW, Youth receive a 50% discount at 2,500 KRW, and children under 7 are completely free. Additionally, if you are wearing a Hanbok, General Admission is also free, but you still need to purchase a ticket for the Secret Garden tour.
Money-saving tip: If you plan to visit both Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung, you can purchase the Royal Palace Pass. This pass includes admission to Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung, and Changdeokgung (including Huwon) for 10,000 KRW. It can be purchased at the ticket office of any palace. The adult price for Changdeokgung tickets (General Admission + Secret Garden) is 8,000 KRW, and the adult ticket for Gyeongbokgung is 3,000 KRW, so even visiting just these two places saves you 1,000 KRW. However, the Royal Palace Pass can only be exchanged for the Secret Garden ticket at the Changdeokgung ticket office and cannot be used for online reservations in advance.
Changdeokgung Secret Garden Booking and Purchase Process
The process for booking Secret Garden guided tour tickets on the Changdeokgung official website underwent significant changes in 2019, shifting from a simple reservation system to requiring online payment. The process is also different from before. Furthermore, the official website changed its URL in 2024. This article has been updated according to the latest 2024 official website purchase process and web design.
1. Register a Member Account
Purchasing Secret Garden guided tour tickets on the official website requires registering a member account first. Therefore, before buying tickets, you can go to the member registration page to create an account. The registration process is simple: just fill in your name and email address, verify the email address, paste the received Verification no. to confirm, set a 4-digit password, and then click the “SIGN-UP NOW” button to complete.
2. Purchase Secret Garden Guided Tour Tickets
Step 1. After entering the English version of the official ticket website for Changdeokgung, click the “LOGIN” button at the top of the page. Enter the email address and password used during member registration to log into your account.
Step 2. On the main page of the ticket website, select “Secret Garden tour“, then choose the ticket date, tour time, and number of people. Click “Next“. (Note: After selecting the date, the time, language, and remaining number of tickets available for online purchase for each tour that day will be displayed. If it shows SOLD OUT, it means the online quota for that session is full.)
Step 3. Check the box for “Agreement to terms and duties” to agree to the relevant terms and conditions, then click the “BOOK NOW” button.
Step 4. In the pop-up window that appears, enter the verification code, then click the “OK” button.
Step 5. After completing Step 4, the Secret Garden guided tour ticket you want to purchase is reserved for you. However, you must complete the payment within 24 hours to正式 purchase the ticket officially; otherwise, your reserved ticket will be canceled. After completing Step 4, the following pop-up window will appear, reminding you of the final payment time. (Note: The time displayed is Korea Time)
Step 6. After completing Step 4, your reserved ticket will be displayed in your member account. To make a payment, click the “Pay” button. (Note: If you do not pay immediately after making the reservation, you can log in to your account within 24 hours and go to My Page to complete the payment and purchase procedure.)
Step 7. Check the “I Agree” box under “Agreement to the payment terms” to agree to the relevant terms, then click the “Pay Now” button to proceed to payment.
Step 8. In the pop-up payment window, check the box for “Full Agreement”, then select your credit card type (Visa, Mastercard, or JCB), enter your credit card details, and click the 「Next」 button to proceed with the payment.
After a successful payment, you will see the Confirmation for your purchased ticket on the My Page. You can present this Confirmation at the ticket office outside Changdeokgung Palace to collect your physical ticket on the day of your visit, or use a self-service ticket machine. Alternatively, you can use the e-ticket directly. If you choose to use the e-ticket, please ensure your mobile phone has internet access at the time of entry, as the e-ticket will only be activated 30 minutes before your entry time. To use it, log into your account on My Page and present the activated ticket.
III. Cancellation and Refund
To cancel a purchased ticket, log into your member account and go to the My Page. Please note the following cancellation policy and refund rules.
- Cancellation more than 2 hours before the tour start time – Full refund
- Cancellation within 2 hours before the tour start time – 90% refund
- Cancellation after the tour has started – No refund
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IV. Purchasing General Admission Tickets
The Secret Garden is located within Changdeokgung Palace. Therefore, to join the Secret Garden tour, you need to purchase both the tour ticket and the General Admission ticket for Changdeokgung Palace. General Admission tickets can also be purchased on the official website. However, there is no limit on the number of General Admission tickets sold. Since purchasing tickets on the website requires pre-payment, if you do not plan to use an e-ticket and will instead exchange your Secret Garden tour ticket at the ticket office on the day of your visit, you can buy the General Admission ticket at the ticket office when you exchange your ticket. But if you plan to use an e-ticket, you can also purchase the General Admission ticket in advance on the official website.
The method for purchasing a General Admission ticket is the same as for purchasing a Secret Garden tour ticket. First, on the official ticketing website homepage, click 「Palace building area only」, then select the date, time (only one option available), and number of tickets. After agreeing to the terms of service, click the 「BOOK NOW」 button. The subsequent steps are identical to purchasing a Secret Garden tour ticket and will not be repeated here.
General Admission tickets, like Secret Garden tour tickets, can be used as e-tickets or collected at the ticket office or self-service ticket machines. The cancellation and refund policies are also the same.
Changdeokgung Tour Sharing
Main Gate of Changdeokgung Palace
The ticket office is located next to the main gate of Changdeokgung Palace, and there is also a toilet nearby.
Tickets are issued separately for Changdeokgung Palace and the Secret Garden.
I. How to Get to the Secret Garden Entrance?
This is a map of Changdeokgung Palace. The red dotted line on the map shows the walking route from the main gate to the Secret Garden entrance. It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk from the main gate to the Secret Garden entrance. It is recommended to enter Changdeokgung Palace at least 1 hour before the tour start time to allow time to visit other attractions within the palace grounds and take photos along the way.
The path from the main gate to the Secret Garden
This is the Secret Garden entrance. It is not the small gate on the right; the path on the left blocked by a barrier is the actual entrance.
There is also a ticket booth in front of the Secret Garden entrance where you can purchase tour tickets if any are still available.
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II. Tour Tips
Gather at the entrance, and once the time arrives, you can follow the guide into the Secret Garden. If your main purpose for entering the Secret Garden is to take photos and enjoy the autumn foliage, and you are not very interested in its historical background, then the language of the guided tour does not matter. Additionally, according to official information, the best time to view autumn foliage in Changdeokgung’s Rear Garden is during the one-month period from mid-October to mid-November each year.
The Secret Garden is quite large, so the tour does not spend much time at each main attraction. If you want to take photos, you must make the most of your time.
The entire tour takes about 1.5 hours. There are no toilets inside the Secret Garden, so it’s best to use the restroom before entering. Additionally, there are many small hills within the Secret Garden, requiring quite a bit of walking uphill and downhill, which might be challenging for those with limited mobility or poor stamina.
After exiting the Secret Garden, you will still be within Changdeokgung Palace and can continue to visit the remaining attractions inside the palace.
This is the tour route for the Changdeokgung Secret Garden tour as shown on the official website.
