Changdeokgung

~ throw back to mid of November 2025 ~ This is a very large and beautiful palace, and it’s a great place to explore. Every corner offers a perfect photo angle, and its architectural style is different from the other 4 palaces. For me, this one is the most unique among all 5 palaces. It’s definitely worth spending time walking around and taking it all in. I spent almost three hours exploring the entire place.

The palace was truly captivating at night! The illuminated pavilions and paths created an atmospheric experience, offering a serene contrast to the daytime crowds. Walking through the palace was an intimate and reflective journey. An evening visit was a great chance to see Changdeokgung's beautiful architecture at its most peaceful.

Highly recommended. Palace grounds and buildings with great guided service at a very accessible price. There are tons of buildings to explore, entire streets in fact. While they are not furnished, the layout of the place tells many stories, and it looks great. Be sure to visit the Secret Garden (separate ticket with timed entry, also affordable).

Nestled at the foot of Mount Bugaksan, Changdeokgung Palace is the most well-preserved of Seoul’s royal residences and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unlike other palaces that follow a rigid, symmetrical layout, Changdeokgung was designed to follow the natural topography, creating a uniquely organic and peaceful ambience. ​The crown jewel is the Huwon (Secret Garden), an 78-acre oasis once strictly reserved for the royal family. A guided tour here offers an intimate look at the lives of Joseon kings. While the palace halls were for formal governance, the garden was a sanctuary where kings like Jeongjo—a renowned scholar-monarch—built the Juhamnu Pavilion to house the royal library. Here, monarchs transitioned from stern rulers to students of philosophy, reciting poetry by the Buyongji Pond or hosting archery contests. Opt for a guided tour and ​Walk through these "forbidden" woods, you experience the Korean principle of pungsu (harmony with nature), where buildings never dominate the landscape but breathe with it.

This palace wasn’t as busy as Gyeongbokgung palace at least when we went. It is a beautiful palace ground with lots of places to take pictures. There is another section which requires another ticket that was really nice. The path along the lake was nice and peaceful. Definitely recommend a visit here if you have the time

The palace is truly amazing, situated in a calm section of the city and with some beautiful architectural highlights. During Golden Week, entry was granted free of charge, even for those not wearing the traditional attire. Unfortunately, the secret garden still required a ticket and was completely sold out for the day. I likely would have enjoyed the location more were it not for the throngs of people.

It's just a shame that these buildings were all destroyed with the Japanese invasion and it's so important and great that Korea is still working on restoring everything as best as possible. The palace is build a little closer together than at Gyeongbokgung Palace. The only thing I could critique is that the government should be paying a little more attention when including fire extinguishers or fuseboxes and maybe try to blend them in a little more. They often break the immersion and the view of the otherwise beautiful palace.

Even though we weren’t able to secure the tickets to the Secret Garden, we still enjoyed the palace grounds very much. Beautiful leaves on the fall.