Renting hanbok in Seoul: what to expect, palace free entry and etiquette
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Renting hanbok for a few hours and walking around a palace is one of the most popular things visitors do in Seoul. This guide covers how rental works in general, the free palace entry rule and how to wear the clothes respectfully. For palace opening days and ticket details, see our separate guide to Seoul's palaces.
How rental usually works
Rental shops cluster around the main palaces, especially near Gyeongbokgung and Anguk station, and around Bukchon. The process at most of them is similar:
- You choose a package by time (a few hours or a full day) and by style. Simpler outfits and more elaborate ones are usually priced differently.
- You pick a jeogori and chima (or a men's set) from the racks. Children's sizes are common.
- Staff help you dress, tie the goreum and adjust the fit.
- Hair styling and accessories (hairpins, headbands, small bags, norigae) are often an extra.
- You leave your own clothes and bag in a locker or with the shop and return by the agreed time.
Prices, deposits and late fees vary from shop to shop and change over time, so ask before you choose. Booking ahead helps on weekends and holidays.
Tips for choosing
- Choose for the weather. In summer, ask for lighter fabric; in winter, many shops offer a durumagi or a warm cape.
- Think about walking. Palace grounds are large and gravelled. Comfortable flat shoes help, and a long chima needs one hand free on stairs.
- Leave time. Dressing and returning take longer than people expect on a busy day.
- Check the photo you want. If you dream of a particular colour or style, ask early before it is taken.
Free palace entry in hanbok
For more than a decade, visitors wearing hanbok have been able to enter the major Seoul palaces and Jongmyo Shrine free, along with some royal tombs. The rule applies to foreign visitors as well as Koreans.
The official guidelines have been tightened and discussed in recent years. As currently described, the outfit generally needs:
- both an upper and a lower garment, a jeogori with a skirt or trousers, since an overcoat alone does not count;
- the ribbon ties or buttons fastened;
- a lower garment that covers the legs.
Short skirts, very revealing outfits, T-shirt style tops and heavily altered "fusion" hanbok may not qualify. Modernised hanbok can count if it keeps the basic form. Staff decide at the gate, and there has been public debate about borderline cases. Rules can change, so check the latest guidelines on the official Royal Palaces and Tombs website before you go, and keep money or a card for a ticket in case your outfit is not accepted. Special events such as night openings may have their own ticketing.
Etiquette
- Wear it properly. Keep the goreum tied and the jacket closed left over right. Hanbok is clothing with meaning to many Koreans, not a costume.
- Be mindful at shrines. Jongmyo and the royal tombs are places of ritual. Keep your voice low and skip playful poses there.
- Do not block paths for photos. Palaces are busy; step aside for shoots and do not climb on structures or lean on railings.
- Respect other people's privacy. Ask before photographing strangers, including others in hanbok.
- Take care of the clothes. Avoid eating messy food in them. Hold the skirt clear of the ground near puddles.
- Return on time. Shops plan the day around return times.
Most Koreans are pleased to see visitors in hanbok and take it as appreciation of the culture. Wearing it well is the best way to return the compliment.
Have you rented hanbok in Seoul? Share what you wish you had known, or ask about palace entry, in the comments.