Entry to the National Museum of Korea is free, and it stays open until 21:00 on Wednesday and Saturday. Take Line 4 to Ichon Station, Exit 2. Six galleries are closed until 28 January 2027, so check the list before you go. The gift shop is busy, and we found no official rule for the queue. We read the museum's English pages and notices on 12 October 2026.
Hours, price and closed days
Price: Free admission, except for special exhibitions. The Children's Museum and free special exhibitions are free too (National Museum of Korea English page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday: 09:30 to 17:30, last admission 17:00. Wednesday and Saturday: 09:30 to 21:00, last admission 20:30. The outdoor exhibition area: 07:00 to 22:00 (same page)
Hours: Closed on 1 January, Lunar New Year's Day and Chuseok. The permanent and special galleries are also closed on the first Monday of March, June, September and December (same page). By our count the next one is Monday 7 December 2026
Note: The museum closed all galleries and facilities on Monday 7 September 2026 for quarterly maintenance, except the outdoor area (museum notice, 26 Aug 2026)
The page gives Lunar New Year's Day only for 2026 (17 February). Seollal 2027 is on 7 February, from our holiday guide. We did not confirm the museum's 2027 closing dates.
The galleries that are closed
Note: Closed from 6 July 2026 to 28 January 2027 for renovation: Buddhist Paintings (Room 203), Wood and Lacquer Crafts (Room 204), Calligraphy and Painting (Rooms 202-3 and 202-4), Buddhist Sculpture (Room 301), Metal Crafts (Room 302) and Sa-i: Room of Senses (museum notice, 26 Aug 2026)
Note: The Central Asia Gallery is closed from 12 to 22 October 2026 (museum notice, 28 Sep 2026). The Japan Gallery and the Calligraphy and Painting Gallery had notices in July 2026 that we did not open
If you came for one object, ask the museum on +82-2-2077-9046 (Korean and English) before you go. We did not confirm which objects are in the closed rooms.
Getting there
Subway: Line 4 or the Gyeongui-Jungang Line to Ichon Station. Go out Exit 2 and walk 150 m toward Yongsan Family Park. An elevator serves Exits 1 and 2. The museum nadeulgil, an underground path from the station, is open 07:00 to 23:00 (museum Directions page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Getting there: Blue buses 400 and 502 stop at the museum (same page)
Address: 137 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Phone +82-2-2077-9000 (museum Directions page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Line 4 runs through Seoul Station. We did not count stops or time the ride from other hotels, so check Naver Map.
English tours, lockers and the Children's Museum
Hours: English highlights tour at 10:30 and 13:00 on 12 Oct 2026, meeting in front of the Korean Empire section on the first floor. The monthly schedule changes (museum Guided Tours page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: Free coat storage on the west side of the main gate. Lockers in front of the museum shop and the Children's Museum. Strollers for children up to 15 kg and wheelchairs are free in the Great Hall (museum Visitor Information page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Booking: Children's Museum: reservations only, made online from 00:00 14 days before. Adults can enter only with children, and there is no on-site ticketing (museum Reservations page, read 12 Oct 2026)
The gift shop
Note: The museum page says there are three museum shops and an online store in Korean. One shop sits across from the lactation room on the first floor of the Great Hall, and lockers stand in front of it (museum Visitor Information page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: MU:DS Global, at muds.kr, is the English online store. A notice there from 2025 says a 15% US customs duty on the product value applies from 29 August 2025, and the shipment goes only after you settle it. A product page for a replica of the Baekje incense burner says shipping takes 3 to 4 extra days because it copies a cultural artifact (muds.kr, undated, read 12 Oct 2026)
We found no official page on the shop queue, shop hours or purchase limits. The museum's English pages say nothing about them. Press reports show the shop is a draw. We did not confirm whether people line up before the museum opens.
| Detail | One source says | Another says | What we use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why visits are up | Korea Herald, 2 Jan 2026: K-culture, the Gyeongju gold crown exhibition, and a 6.5 million visitor year in 2025 | Kyunghyang Weekly, 18 Sep 2026: young people's interest in MU:DS goods, and 5,254,884 visitors in January to August 2026 | Both. Neither is an official museum statement |
| MU:DS spelling and sales | Korea Herald: "Mucz", over ₩40 billion in a year | Museum shop site: MU:DS | MU:DS. We did not verify the sales figure |
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 12 October 2026: the National Museum of Korea's English pages for viewing hours, directions (subway and bus), guided tours, Children's Museum reservations and news notices (including the notice of 26 August 2026 and the list of 28 September 2026), and the MU:DS Global store notice and about page. We also read a Korea Herald article of 2 January 2026 and a Kyunghyang Weekly article of 18 September 2026.
Not checked: shop hours, any queue rule or purchase limit, the closed galleries' contents, special exhibitions and their prices today, the museum's 2027 closing dates, whether the US duty notice of 2025 still applies, and the walk from other stations. We did not visit.
