The National Palace Museum of Korea, under the Korea Heritage Service, will move up its opening time by 30 minutes, following a similar change at the National Museum of Korea under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Other national museums are expected to follow suit.
According to the National Palace Museum on the 19th, the museum will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday and Sunday starting March 1. This shifts both opening and closing times 30 minutes earlier from the current 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule.
On Saturdays, when evening hours are offered, the museum will open at 9:30 a.m. and remain open until 9 p.m. Wednesday evening hours will be reduced to only the last week of each month, with the museum staying open until 9 p.m.
The National Palace Museum said the schedule change is "a measure to prevent safety accidents and enhance visitor convenience," adding that "the new operating hours will take effect from March 1."
The National Museum of Korea previously announced it would move up its opening time by 30 minutes starting March 16, operating from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The number of closure days will also increase. The National Palace Museum, which previously closed only on January 1 and the days of Seollal and Chuseok holidays, has already announced it will be closed on the last Monday of every month. When this falls on a public holiday, the museum will close the following day for facility maintenance. This adds 12 closure days annually.
The National Museum of Korea will add four closure days—the first Monday of March, June, September, and December—to its existing three days off (January 1, Seollal, and Chuseok), bringing total annual closures to seven days.