Palaces, museums and galleries open free for chuseok holiday

Museums, palaces and art galleries across South Korea will welcome visitors with a range of cultural events during the chuseok holiday. Programs the whole family can enjoy — from traditional games to intangible heritage performances — will be held at venues nationwide, while the four grand palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and Joseon royal tombs will be open free of charge. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will also offer free admission throughout the holiday period.

The National Museum of Korea and 12 other national museums around the country will mark chuseok with cultural events highlighting each region's distinct character. Designed to help visitors engage with traditional culture and heritage in an accessible way, the programs will run both online and in person at each museum through Sept. 30.

The National Museum of Korea will present "The Art Spot Series," a program of intangible heritage performances, during the holiday — Thursday through Sunday, excluding chuseok Day itself on Friday. Two performances will be held daily at the Open Plaza, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Regional national museums will offer hands-on activities evoking the festive holiday spirit. The National Museum of Chuncheon will host traditional games and a rice-cake pounding experience, giving visitors a taste of freshly made injeolmi. The National Museum of Jeju will feature traditional folk games including yutnori, tuho and jegichagi.

The National Museum of Cheongju will run a "Chuseok Festival" featuring a farmers' band performance, the traditional play "Bangwijjaengi Myeonuri" ("The Farting Daughter-in-Law"), a children's film screening, traditional games and wish-postcard writing. The National Museum of Gongju will stage "Gugwan Myeonggwan Myeongin-jeon," a traditional outdoor performance featuring nine master artists, at its outdoor plaza on Saturday, along with a hands-on activity where visitors can build a janggu drum out of Lego bricks.

The National Museum of Iksan will offer "Moon, Moon, Grant My Wish," an activity where visitors write down their chuseok wishes, alongside traditional folk games and a photo event. The National Museum of Gwangju will run a flower-pot making workshop tied to its special exhibition "Earthenware: Vessels That Hold Us."

The National Museum of Jeonju will host a "Chuseok Folk Games Yard" featuring samulnori, displays of traditional lifestyle tools and hands-on folk game activities. At the National Museum of Naju's "Mani Hani Chuseok Playground," visitors can enjoy a wide variety of games including tuho, top-spinning, ssangnyuk, gonu, crokinole, rubber-band jumping and cooperative jegi.

The four grand palaces and Joseon royal tombs will also be open free of charge during the holiday. The Palace and Royal Tomb Management Office under the Cultural Heritage Administration will offer free admission to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung palaces, as well as Jongmyo Shrine and the Joseon royal tombs, from Thursday through Sunday. Visitors wearing hanbok may enter without going through a separate ticketing process, and Jongmyo — which normally requires advance reservations — will be open for walk-in visits during this period.

At Gyeongbokgung, the Royal Guard-Changing Ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Royal Guard Patrol Ceremony at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the Royal Guard Night Patrol Ceremony at 3 p.m. No advance reservation is required to watch any of these.

Deoksugung will offer guided tours of its palace halls four times a day. Guided tours of the Seokjojeon Hall of the Korean Empire History Museum will also run four times daily and are available through advance reservation.

However, programs that require paid advance booking — including the Changdeokgung Secret Garden tour, the Moonlight Tour and the Gyeongbokgung night visit — are not covered by the free admission offer. Those unable to visit in person can take part in a non-contact online event at the "Everyone's Genre Painting 2026" website, where they can create their own Joseon-era character.

Art galleries will also offer free admission during the holiday. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will waive entry fees at its Seoul, Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju branches. The Seoul branch will be open Thursday and Saturday through Sunday, excluding chuseok Day on Friday, while the Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju branches will operate normally all four days from Thursday through Sunday. Free admission requires either an online reservation or on-site ticketing.