Seoul in November 2026: Free Palaces, Peak Foliage and CSAT Day

Plan November in Seoul around four things. The four palaces and Jongmyo Shrine are free for everyone until Sunday, November 15, on every day they open. The autumn leaves on Bukhansan, at the city’s northern edge, have been at peak since October 26. On Thursday, November 19, takeoffs and landings will be adjusted during the university entrance exam’s English listening test, 13:10 to 13:35. And two things end early: the free Nowon Moonlight Walk on November 8, and the Banksy show on November 3.

If you can choose your dates, come in the first week of the month, when the leaves and free palace entry (October 29 to November 15) overlap.

Seoul in November 2026 at a glance

What’s free in Seoul in November 2026?

The palaces and Jongmyo, until November 15. For the Korea Grand Festival, the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center makes Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Jongmyo and the Joseon royal tombs free from Thursday, October 29 to Sunday, November 15. Two exclusions: the Changdeokgung Secret Garden special viewing is not part of the free admission, and regular closing days stay closed. Jongmyo switches to independent entry for the whole period, so you can walk in on any open day instead of joining a timed tour. Gyeongbokgung runs its regular guided tours 30 minutes shorter during the period.

Free admission takes away the reason to rent hanbok just to save the ticket, but our Gyeongbokgung hanbok guide covers the dress rules if you want to wear one anyway. For the Secret Garden, see our Changdeokgung guide; for Jongmyo’s English sessions, our Jongmyo guide.

The Nowon Moonlight Walk, until November 8. Public-art light sculptures along the Danghyeoncheon stream in Nowon-gu, in Seoul’s northeast, lit every evening from 17:30 to 22:00 since October 16. It is free. The festival portal puts it about 500 meters from Exit 1 of Junggye Station.

Seoul’s urban history, until November 8. The Grand Panorama of Seoul Urban Planning, at the Seoul Museum of History, opens with the 1966 Seoul Basic Urban Plan, the first record of the city’s top-level planning. Admission is free. Until November 30 the museum stays open to 21:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; it closes at 18:00 on Thursday and is shut on Mondays, except public holidays. It is about 550 meters from Exit 7 of Gwanghwamun Station.

What time do the palaces close in November?

Earlier than in October. November hours on the visiting-hours page:

On Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Wednesdays, Changgyeonggung’s Yulgok-ro gate to Jongmyo is open, and entry through that gate ends at 17:00; general admission keeps its 20:00 last entry. At Jongmyo, walk-in entry runs every open day until November 15. From November 16, Monday, Thursday and Friday are timed-entry days with a guide. From Tuesday, November 10 to Sunday, November 15, Changgyeonggung stops its evening general admission for a separate reserved night program and closes at 17:30.

Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung both stay open to 21:00 (last entry 20:00), except that Changgyeonggung closes at 17:30 from November 10 to 15. For an evening, our pick is Deoksugung; our City Hall to Deoksugung walk shows how to pair it with the free art museum next door.

When is the autumn foliage in Seoul in 2026?

Now through early November. The Korea Meteorological Administration’s Seoul office recorded the first color on Bukhansan, the mountain on Seoul’s northern edge, on October 14, a day earlier than normal; first color means the top fifth of the mountain has turned. The Korea Forest Service’s peak forecast, with peak meaning half the leaves have turned, puts the nationwide peak for ginkgo on October 30 and for maples and oaks on October 31. Farther south it gives Naejangsan November 4 and Hallasan on Jeju November 6. Weather moves these dates. Bukhansan reached peak on October 26, two days earlier than normal, YTN reported.

Our pick is a palace in the first week of November, while entry is free. Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden is the strongest choice if you can get a ticket. For a day out of the city, see our Nami Island guide. Where to go in the city, which forecast to trust and the easy foliage walks are in our Seoul autumn foliage guide.

Will flights be affected on CSAT day, November 19?

Yes, for about half an hour in the early afternoon. The College Scholastic Ability Test, Korea’s university entrance exam, is on Thursday, November 19, 2026. On October 20 the Ministry of Education said that takeoffs and landings will be adjusted during the English listening test, 13:10 to 13:35. It also asked public offices and companies to start work at 10:00 or later, and Seoul-area subways add trains from 06:00 to 08:10. The exact flight window is announced a day or two before. On the 2025 exam day (November 13), the transport ministry stopped all non-emergency takeoffs and landings nationwide from 13:05 to 13:40, announced on November 11, with 140 flights rescheduled. If you fly in or out of Korea that afternoon, expect your airline to move your flight time, and allow extra time on the roads before 10:00.

Which big exhibitions are on in November?

KAWS, until December 27. KAWS: FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS at Space K Seoul is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in Korea, with 20 new works, including large paintings and sculptures. It runs until December 27, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. Adults pay ₩8,000, youths ₩5,000 and preschoolers ₩3,000, and the Discover Seoul Pass is accepted. Audio guides are in Korean and English. Space K is about 700 meters from Exit 4 of Magoknaru Station, on Line 9 and the Airport Railroad.

Banksy, only until November 3. BANKSY: Still Here at ALT.1, on the 6th floor of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, closes on Tuesday, November 3. The listing describes it as an introduction to Banksy’s work through images and major projects. Adults pay ₩23,000, ages 36 months to 18 ₩18,000. It is open 10:30 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday (last entry 19:00).

What’s on stage: the Seoul Dance Festival and Seoul Autumn Festa

The 47th Seoul Dance Festival has a short pre-festival from November 4 to 7 at the Seoul Dance Creation Center, beginning with a free workshop on November 4, and its main program from November 13 to 29. Opening and invited performances run November 13 to 18 at the Arko Arts Theater main hall, with Part 1 of the opening program on November 13 and Part 2 on November 15. The competition follows on November 20, 22, 25 and 27 at the same theater, and the festival closes with an awards ceremony on November 29 at the Seoul Dance Creation Center. Arko shows start at 20:00 on weekdays and 19:00 at weekends; the theater is about 150 meters from Exit 2 of Hyehwa Station. Ticket prices vary by performance, and children under 7 are not admitted.

Seoul Autumn Festa gathers the city’s performing-arts programs under one banner until November 29, with prices and times set by each show. Its information lounge, on the first floor of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture’s Daehakro Center, 165 meters from Exit 1 of Hyehwa Station, has a kiosk for finding a show; it is closed on Mondays and public holidays. With the Arko theater a few minutes away, Daehak-ro is the place for a theater evening in November.

Are there public holidays in Seoul in November?

No. None of Korea’s public holidays falls in November, so every weekday is an ordinary working day and the palaces keep their usual closing days.

What’s next: December

The Seoul Lantern Festival is scheduled for December along the Cheonggyecheon stream. It is not on in November.

Before you go

• Visit a palace by November 15 for free entry, ideally in the first week while the leaves are still near peak, and avoid Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo on Tuesdays, the others on Mondays.
• Plan around shorter days: Gyeongbokgung’s last entry is 16:00, Changdeokgung’s and Jongmyo’s 16:30. Deoksugung takes visitors until 20:00.
• Flying on Thursday, November 19? Expect flights to be held around 13:10 to 13:35.
• Banksy closes November 3 and the Nowon Moonlight Walk November 8; KAWS runs to December 27.

Steve OH edits Seoulpin. Steve runs Standardpin, a Seoul-based web studio that also builds websites for clinics; that work has no effect on whether or how any clinic appears here. Articles are drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed and reviewed by Steve before publishing. How we work