First visit to the National Museum of Korea: what should you choose?
Separate the permanent galleries, special exhibitions, Children’s Museum and programs to see which tickets and reservations your visit needs.
First visit to the National Museum of Korea: what should you choose?
Choose a main activity rather than trying to see everything. Make the permanent galleries your base for independent browsing, or choose a special exhibition for a particular subject. With children, secure a Children’s Museum session first; for a class or activity, start with the program application. Sharing a museum campus does not mean sharing admission rules.[2][6]
Permanent galleries: choose a subject
The permanent exhibition is free. Distinguish ordinary individual viewing from bookable activities: groups of 30 or more elementary, middle or high school students need advance reservations, and groups providing their own commentary also have a separate booking requirement.[2][6] Choose one or two interests, then locate the relevant rooms on the official map.
As checked on October 8, 2026, Buddhist Sculpture (301), Metal Crafts (302), Space Between, Buddhist Painting (203) and Wood and Lacquer Crafts (204) are closed from July 6, 2026 through January 28, 2027. Calligraphy and Painting rooms 202-3 and 202-4 are closed from August 10 through the same end date. This is not a whole-museum closure.[9]
The Celadon (303) and Buncheong and White Porcelain (304) rooms remain available under this notice. Separately, Central Asia (307) has an announced closure for October 12–22, 2026. Check room numbers against notices for your date. The notice schedules that room’s reopening for October 23, 2026.[3][10]
Special exhibitions: check the individual ticket
Some special exhibitions are free; others charge admission.[6] For example, 우리들의 밥상, an exhibition about the dining table, runs in Special Exhibition Gallery 2 from July 1 to October 25, 2026. Individual admission is 5,000 won for ages 25–64 and 3,000 won for ages 7–24; free or discounted categories have their own evidence requirements.[8]
For this exhibition, buy a same-day ticket on site or book through Ticketlink or Naver by the previous day; online booking for free-admission categories is available only through Ticketlink. Full-price tickets receive a mobile barcode, but free or discounted tickets do not: those visitors must present proof at the on-site ticket desk. Its official docent program requires a booking separate from the exhibition ticket. Do not transfer these conditions to another exhibition.[8]
Children’s Museum: reserve the family’s session
Admission is free but requires online reservation and a mobile ticket at the entrance; there is no on-site ticket issuance. Adults without children and children without adult guardians are restricted. Babies under 36 months also need reservations.[5]
Individual bookings open at midnight on the booking page’s server clock, 14 days before the visit: up to five tickets per booking, once per day. Cancel before the session starts. Reservations are automatically cancelled if you do not enter within 30 minutes of the start; failure to enter within 30 minutes of the session start without prior cancellation brings a 60-day Children’s Museum visiting restriction from the missed visit date, and all Children’s Museum reservations during that period are cancelled. If you cannot complete sign-up or verification beyond the login screen, contact the Children’s Museum at 02-2077-9647 rather than assuming you have a ticket.[5]
Programs are a separate choice
On the Modu education platform, select the National Museum of Korea and check each program’s audience, date, application status, language and fee. A class is not automatically included in gallery admission. VR in Digital Immersive Gallery 2 requires online booking; other digital immersive-gallery content is listed as available without reservation. Do not assume all programs or VR share one fee rule.[2][12]
Arriving and taking a break
Official directions link the Museum Nadeul-gil passage toward Ichon Station exit 2 with the museum’s West Gate. Listed elevator locations are exit 1 and the Nadeul-gil toward exit 2. Follow current signs and the official map, not a guessed walking time. The passage is listed as open 07:00–23:00 and closed when the museum is closed.[7]
The outdoor pond and pavilion at the National Museum of Korea.
The outdoor exhibition grounds are listed as open 07:00–22:00. Indoor galleries run 09:30–17:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and until 21:00 on Wednesday and Saturday; ordinary last entry is 17:00 or 20:30. The dining-table exhibition closes ticketing and entry earlier, at 16:50 or 20:20. December 7, 2026 is a scheduled regular gallery closure.[6][8]
Use this October 8, 2026 guide to choose your scope, then recheck notices: secure the activity needing a ticket or session, and add only the open galleries you actually want to see.
Official information
[2] Reservations
[5] Children’s Museum booking and entry
[8] Dining-table exhibition tickets
[9] Painting and crafts closures
[10] Central Asia closure
Photo credits
• Exterior: King Sejong Institute Foundation, 국립중앙박물관(필드)_010 (2024) · KOGL Type 1. Supplied JPEG; no further edits.
• Pond: King Sejong Institute Foundation, 국립중앙박물관(필드)_016 (2024) · KOGL Type 1. Supplied JPEG; no further edits.