Jongmyo Shrine종묘

About this place

Jongmyo Shrine is a Confucian ancestral rite site housing the spirit tablets of Joseon dynasty kings and queens, founded in 1395 by order of King Taejo and serving ever since as the center of royal memorial ceremonies. Its understated architecture, centered on Jeongjeon and Yeongnyeongjeon halls, exemplifies the restrained, function-first spirit of Joseon Confucian design. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, the shrine hosts Jongmyodaeje — itself a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — on the first Sunday of May each year.

Good to know

Address

157 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Hours

Varies by shop

How you get in depends on the day. Free entry at your own pace is allowed on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Culture Day (the last Wednesday of each month), when the north gate on Yulgok-ro also opens. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are timed-entry days; you may only join a guided walk of about an hour that departs at a fixed time, and unaccompanied visits are not possible. Korean-language departures run from 09:20 at twenty past each hour, with an extra 16:40 slot from March to September; English at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00; Japanese at 09:40, 11:40, 13:40 and 15:40; Chinese at 11:00 and 15:00. Each departure is capped at 200 people, half booked online and half sold on the day. Last admission is one hour before closing. The shrine closes on Tuesdays, but opens when a Tuesday falls on a public holiday and takes the next non-holiday instead. Admission is 1,000 won, free for visitors in hanbok and, with ID, for Korean nationals aged 24 and under or 65 and over, and free for everyone on Culture Day.

Closed

Tue

Sources

Confirmed 7 August 2026

• royal.khs.go.kr

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