Gwanghwamun 광화문

A palace gate, a city plaza and subway stations on Lines 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Gwanghwamun Square at night
Geunjeongjeon Hall at Gyeongbokgung Palace
Direction sign on the Gwanghwamun Station platform, Line 5

Good to know

Closed days, exits and opening hours. Numbers point to the sources below.

Closed days

Deoksugung Palace is closed on Mondays and Gyeongbokgung Palace is closed on Tuesdays. If a closure day falls on a public holiday or a substitute holiday, the palace is open that day, and the next day that is not a holiday becomes the closure day. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center page is the official reference.

  • Deoksugung PalaceClosed on Mondays ¹
  • Gyeongbokgung PalaceClosed on Tuesdays ¹
  • Overlap with a holidayOpen on the holiday; the next non-holiday day is the closure day ¹

Hours and notes

Gyeongbokgung is open 09:00–17:00 in Jan–Feb and Nov–Dec, 09:00–18:00 in Mar–May and Sep–Oct, and 09:00–18:30 in Jun–Aug; the last entry is one hour before closing. Deoksugung is open 09:00–21:00 all year, with the last entry at 20:00. Gyeongbokgung holds a royal guard-changing ceremony at 10:00 and 14:00, a gate-guarding ceremony at 11:00 and 13:00, and an open drill of the gate guards at 09:35 and 13:35.

  • Gyeongbokgung hours, Jan–Feb and Nov–Dec09:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00) ¹
  • Gyeongbokgung hours, Mar–May and Sep–Oct09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) ¹
  • Gyeongbokgung hours, Jun–Aug09:00–18:30 (last entry 17:30) ¹
  • Deoksugung hours, all year09:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00) ¹
  • Royal guard-changing ceremony (Sumunjang)10:00 and 14:00, 20 minutes ²
  • Gate-guarding ceremony11:00 and 13:00, 10 minutes ²
  • Open drill of the gate guards09:35 and 13:35, 15 minutes ²

Exits

For Gwanghwamun Square, use Exit 6 of Gyeongbokgung Station (toward the Government Complex Seoul), or the Haechi Madang connecting passage and Exit 7 of Gwanghwamun Station. For Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 5 is the entrance; Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2 is about a 7-minute walk and Anguk Station Exit 1 about 10 minutes. The Sejong Center is 200 m from Exits 1 and 8 of Gwanghwamun Station and 300 m from Exit 7.

  • Gwanghwamun Square, from Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3)Exit 6, toward the Government Complex Seoul ³
  • Gwanghwamun Square, from Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5)Haechi Madang connecting passage and Exit 7, toward the plaza forest ³
  • Sejong Center, from Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5)Exits 1 and 8 (200 m), Exit 7 (300 m) ⁴
  • Sejong Center, from Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3)Exit 6, toward Sejong-daero ⁴
  • Gyeongbokgung Palace, from Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3)Exit 5 ⁵
  • Gyeongbokgung Palace, from Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5)Exit 2, about 7 minutes on foot ⁵
  • Gyeongbokgung Palace, from Anguk Station (Line 3)Exit 1, about 10 minutes on foot ⁵
  1. Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, checked Oct 14
  2. Korea Heritage Service (Gyeongbokgung), checked Oct 14
  3. Gwanghwamun Square (Seoul), checked Oct 14
  4. Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, checked Oct 14
  5. Korea Heritage Service (Gyeongbokgung), checked Oct 14

From popular starting points

Subway and train routes with typical times and fares.

FromRouteTimeFare
Incheon Airport T1AREX all-stop to Gongdeok → Line 5 to GwanghwamunSeoul Metro station distances (OA-12034, KOGL Type 1) + fare table, checked Oct 14 Estimate 70 min₩4,750
Seoul StationLine 1 from Seoul Station to City HallSeoul Metro station distances (OA-12034, KOGL Type 1) + fare table, checked Oct 14 Estimate 12 min₩1,550
Myeong-dongLine 4 to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park → Line 5 to GwanghwamunSeoul Metro station distances (OA-12034, KOGL Type 1) + fare table, checked Oct 14 Estimate 18 min₩1,550
HongdaeLine 2 to Chungjeongno → Line 5 to GwanghwamunSeoul Metro station distances (OA-12034, KOGL Type 1) + fare table, checked Oct 14 Estimate 18 min₩1,550
GangnamLine 2 to Gyodae → Line 3 to GyeongbokgungSeoul Metro station distances (OA-12034, KOGL Type 1) + fare table, checked Oct 14 Estimate 30 min₩1,750

Eat here

  • Memil guksuBuckwheat noodles in an anchovy-kelp broth, made from 100% buckwheat.
  • Memil mukbapBuckwheat jelly over rice.
  • Memil jeonbyeongBuckwheat crepe rolled around a filling.
Where locals send youMijin (미진)Buckwheat noodle restaurant founded in 1954, now run by the third generation.
Open in Google Maps

What's on nearby

From official listings, checked Oct 14.

Next trains here

Live, from the stations around this place.

Where are you starting?Set your start to see times and fares

Sources

Checked Oct 14 against the official pages below.

Photos