Hwaseong Haenggung Palace Suwon 2026: Hours, 2,000-Won Admission, and How to Get There From Seoul

Bottom line: Hwaseong Haenggung Palace in Suwon is a Joseon-era royal palace you can enter for 2,000 won, and it's an easy day trip from Seoul by train. Through October it stays open until 6 p.m., but from November 1 closing time moves up an hour to 5 p.m. — so if you want a relaxed late-afternoon visit, go before the end of October.

If you didn't know: Show up in the late afternoon in November without knowing the hours changed, and you could lose an hour or get shut out entirely. The city tour bus from Suwon Station's tourist information center is the easy way to reach the palace, but it only runs Tuesday through Friday, twice a day (departing 9:50 a.m. and 1:50 p.m.) — show up on a weekend or Monday and you'll need to find a regular bus or taxi instead, which eats into your time on the road.

Pass through the main gate, Sinpung-ru, and the courtyard opens up to a sweep of tiled roofs layered one behind another. King Jeongjo built this palace after moving his father Crown Prince Sado's tomb to Suwon, and it's the largest of the palaces Joseon kings used outside the main royal residence. By day, actors in traditional dress sometimes perform a guard-changing ceremony or a martial arts show; during the night-opening season, lanterns light up building after building for a completely different mood after dark. Climb up to the Hwaseong Fortress wall and the whole palace complex opens up below you — walking the full loop of the fortress wall takes two to three hours. Riding the Hwaseong Eocha train covers the main stretch of wall while you stay seated, saving your legs.

Journey stage: ④During the trip · Verified 2026-10-23 · Source City of Suwon (Suwon Cultural Foundation)