A whole new take on a temple visit.

Every year in February for a limited period of time, palaces such as Gyeongbokgung and Changgyeonggung are open to the public from 18:00 to 21:00. During the night opening, the palaces and the various gates and pavilions will be lit up, showcasing their beauty in a different way.

The number of tickets sold per week is limited to 2,200, and each guest is only allowed to purchase 2 tickets maximum. The tickets cost 3,000KRW each for Gyeongbokgung and 1,000KRW each for Changgyeonggung. Guests can book the tickets from www.royalpalace.go.kr for tickets to Gyeongbokgung and www.gogung.go.kr for tickets to Changgyeonggung.

Compared to the day time where you walk around marvelling at the ingenuity of the architecture, walking around the palace compound at night makes you wonder how it must have felt like if you were to have lived in this compound during the royal times. The cold weather coupled with the lack of man-made lighting in the past.. we can only wonder.

Head towards the palace garden where you can find a pavilion situated in the middle of the pond. The Gyeonghoeru Pavilion was where the king used to frequent for his afternoon walks, taking in the sights of the beautiful garden from the comfort of the huge pavilion.

If you happen to be in Seoul during the night opening period, do not pass the change to explore the palace compounds at night! It is a rare opportunity and Koreans usually snap up the tickets very quickly.

• Address: Gyeongbokgung Palace, 161, Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Subway: Gyeongbokgung Station, Line 3
• Opening Hours: 1800 ~ 2100
• Website: http://www.royalpalace.go.kr
• Contact Number: +82 3700-3900 (English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
• Email: NA

To book your tickets, visit www.royalpalace.go.kr and select the English language option. The reservation system will be up when the night opening period is open.