National Museum of Korea 2026:
Free Entry, Hours & Exhibitions Until April
Where the museum does not say, this guide does not guess.
General admission to the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan is free, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays it stays open until 21:00. What the museum does not make obvious is which exhibitions end in the next three weeks, which galleries are closed until January, and that a long weekend visit can be timed around a single three-day overlap at the end of November.
This guide covers admission, opening hours, how to get there, the current exhibition calendar with dates, and the free English tour and app. Every figure comes from museum.go.kr pages read on 6 November 2026. Where the museum pages do not state something, such as weekly closing days or special exhibition prices, this guide leaves it out; check those on the official site before you go.
special exhibitions are charged
other days 09:30–17:30
Gyeongui-Jungang, 150 m
ROOM 1Is the National Museum of Korea free?
Yes for general admission. The museum home page states that general admission is free and that charges apply for special exhibitions; it does not list special exhibition prices, so check the exhibition page when you book. The Children's Museum is also free, but online reservations are required, and the mobile ticket is checked at entry (phone +82-2-2077-9647).
The Immersive Digital Gallery has one booking rule: the VR experience needs an online reservation, opened 30 days before the date you want. The museum says advance booking is not required for the other immersive digital content. The reservation page does not say whether general admission needs a booking, and the home page simply lists it as free.
ROOM 2Opening hours and last admission
| Day | Opening hours | Last admission* |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday | 09:30–17:30 | 17:00 |
| Wednesday and Saturday | 09:30–21:00 | 20:30 |
*The museum says admission closes 30 minutes before closing time and visitors are guided to exit from 10 minutes before closing. The last-admission times in the table are simple subtraction from those rules, not times printed by the museum. The English and Korean home pages show the same hours.
The Children's Museum runs on its own schedule: 09:30–17:20, with five admission slots a day. The museum's Korean home page also notes that the Buddhist painting, Buddhist sculpture, metalwork and wood-and-lacquer crafts galleries are closed from 6 July 2026 to 28 January 2027 and reopen on 29 January 2027. The calligraphy and painting rooms 202-3 and 202-4 have been closed since 10 August 2026.
ROOM 3Getting there: subway, bus, car and parking
By subway, take Line 4 or the Gyeongui-Jungang Line to Ichon Station, leave by Exit 2 and walk about 150 metres toward Yongsan Family Park. Elevators are near Exits 1 and 2. The underground passage called Museum Nadeulgil, which links Ichon Station to the museum, is open 07:00–23:00.
Bus routes 400 and 502 both stop at the museum, according to the museum's bus page. By car, the page gives directions from the City Hall, Gangnam and Samgakji directions, and warns that parking spaces are limited and that bus or subway is recommended.
| Vehicle | First 60 minutes | Each extra 10 minutes | Full day (06:00–23:00) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | ₩1,000 | ₩500 | ₩30,000 |
| Bus | ₩2,000 | ₩1,000 | ₩60,000 |
The first 20 minutes are free, compact and hybrid cars get 50% off, and visitors with disabilities park free. As a worked example from the posted rates, a car parked for three hours costs ₩7,000 before any discount (₩1,000 for the first hour plus twelve 10-minute blocks at ₩500). The parking page also notes that from July 2026 the Yongsan Children's Garden parking lot is reached through the Large Parking Lot.
ROOM 4Exhibitions: what is on and what closes first
| Exhibition | Dates | Where / note |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Jeonghui and His Companions | 11 Aug – 22 Nov 2026 | closes in 16 days from 6 Nov |
| Tour of National Treasures: Masterpieces Across the Country | 19 May – 29 Nov 2026 | closes in 23 days from 6 Nov |
| Breaking the Seal of a Thousand Years: Buddhist Manuscripts from Dunhuang | 23 Oct 2026 – 24 Jan 2027 | special exhibition |
| Evergreen Bamboo Through the Four Seasons Embodied in Ceramics | 23 Jun 2026 – 31 Jan 2027 | Buncheong ware and white porcelain gallery, 3rd floor |
| Modern Art in Times of Change: Masterpieces from Kunsthaus Zürich | 27 Nov 2026 – 18 Apr 2027 | Special Exhibition Hall 1 |
| Marie Antoinette Style | 18 Dec 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 | upcoming |
The calendar produces one useful overlap. Kim Jeonghui ends on 22 November, so it is gone before the Zürich show opens. But from 27 to 29 November, the Tour of National Treasures, the Dunhuang manuscripts and the Zürich collection are all on view at the same time. Those three days are the only window to see all three together; this comes from comparing the museum's posted dates, not from a museum statement.
Both Marie Antoinette Style (from 18 December) and the Zürich show run into spring, so they are the ones to leave for a later visit. Closure notices on the museum site cover individual galleries, so re-check the home page the week you go.
ROOM 5Tours, app and a Saturday plan
The museum offers a Highlights Tour for international visitors in English, Chinese and Japanese. On weekdays it runs at 10:30 and 13:00. On Saturdays and Sundays, English and Japanese tours run at 10:30 and 13:00 and Chinese at 13:00. The museum notes the schedule changes every month, and the tour meets in front of the Korean Empire section of the Permanent Exhibition Hall on the first floor.
The free Exhibition Guide App covers Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese. It uses Bluetooth beacons, so you need personal earphones, and it requires Android 7.0 or later or iOS 14.0 or later, with location and Bluetooth switched on. The museum suggests downloading the content on Wi-Fi in advance. An English floor guide on the site also lists a coat check, nursing room, cafe, restaurant and stroller and wheelchair rental.
- 09:30 – doors open (Saturday hours run to 21:00)
- 10:30 – English Highlights Tour, if the November schedule keeps the usual weekend time
- 13:00 – second English tour slot
- 20:30 – last admission, by the museum's 30-minute rule
- 20:50 – exit guidance begins; the museum closes at 21:00
- ✔ Check special exhibition prices on the museum site before you book
- ✔ Confirm the November tour schedule, since it changes monthly
- ✔ Re-read the home page closure notices the week you go
- ✔ Bring earphones if you plan to use the guide app
- ✔ Prefer subway Exit 2 or the bus over driving; the museum says parking is limited
Check the hours and the exhibition end dates first; those two decide when you go. Everything else on this page is easy to settle once you have picked the day.
National Museum of Korea official pages: English home (museum.go.kr/site/eng/home); Korean home (museum.go.kr/MUSEUM/main/index.do); subway page (museum.go.kr/site/eng/content/transportation_subway); bus, car and parking pages (museum.go.kr/ENG/contents/E0105020000.do, E0105030000.do, E0105040000.do); guided tours (E0102010000.do); exhibition guide app (E0102030000.do); reservations (E0103000000.do); Children's Museum (museum.go.kr/site/childeng/home). Pages carry no posting dates unless noted above.
Note This article was written with the help of AI tools by cross-checking the museum's published pages. It is not a first-hand visit report. Hours, exhibitions and rules can change; confirm on museum.go.kr before you go.
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