The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center under the Korea Heritage Service announced Monday that it will gradually expand free admission to royal palaces and tombs, starting with the Joseon Royal Tombs on May 27, in line with the government's expansion of the "Culture Day" policy.
The center currently opens palaces and royal tombs free of charge on the last Wednesday of each month under the previous "Culture Day" framework. From May 27, however, free admission to the Joseon Royal Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will be expanded to every Wednesday.
The center plans to phase in additional sites after comprehensively reviewing visitor conditions, on-site capacity, and staffing arrangements at each palace and tomb facility. Deoksugung Palace will offer free admission every Wednesday from August, while Changdeokgung Palace, Changgyeonggung Palace, and Jongmyo Shrine will follow from October.
For Gyeongbokgung Palace, the center said it will review the timing of expansion at a later date, taking into account on-site congestion from the recent surge in visitors and visitor safety concerns.
In preparation for the expected increase in visitors under the expanded free admission, the center is inspecting the safety of visitor pathways and major facilities, and is also overhauling its on-site congestion response and visitor guidance systems. It will further improve ticketing, information, and promotional systems to reduce on-site confusion, and strengthen advance notices and publicity for visitors.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced earlier that "Culture Day," previously held on the last Wednesday of each month, would be expanded more than fourfold to every Wednesday starting in April.
At that time, the Korea Heritage Service explained that, given the surge of visitors to palaces and royal tombs, it would first establish a more substantive visitor environment before gradually expanding free admission from May.
