Kingdom Filming Locations in Korea — Seoul and Mungyeong
Where Netflix's Kingdom shot its Joseon palace, scene by scene. The drama's single palace was really four separate sites in Seoul that fit into one day — plus the Mungyeongsaejae open set, which does not.
Language
Kingdom did not film its palace in one palace. The king's chamber is Gyeonghuigung, the hall where the crown prince kneels is Changgyeonggung, and the accession is Jongmyo, shot separately and cut together. Following the locations means watching a single invented palace come apart into four real ones.
They split four-and-one. The Seoul four all sit inside Jongno and fit into one day; the Mungyeongsaejae open set is 131 km away and belongs to a different trip.
Four in a day, one you travel to
The Seoul four — Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung share a wall, and Jongmyo is immediately south of Changgyeonggung. Even the outlier, Gyeonghuigung, is 2.3 km from Jongmyo. Allow a full day for all four.
The one in Mungyeong — Mungyeongsaejae Open Set is not a palace but a set built for shooting historical drama. It is a different kind of place as well as a distant one, so it belongs with a Mungyeong or Andong trip rather than this one.
Which site suits you
Three things decide it: which scene you want to see, how much of the day you have, and which day of the week you are going.
Less than half a day in Seoul? Gyeonghuigung on its own. Visit Seoul lists it as a small palace with free admission, so a short visit covers the king's chamber and Seoam together.
Want Kingdom's scenery itself? The rear garden at Changdeokgung. Gwallamji is the only one of the five where the backdrop is a garden's water and trees rather than a hall. Its fee, entry times and numbers are set separately, so it suits someone who can plan ahead.
Want a palace after the day's sightseeing is done? Changgyeonggung. It stays open latest of the four Seoul sites, and it is where the crown prince kneels at Tongmyeongjeon.
Want something other than a palace? Jongmyo. It is a shrine holding the spirit tablets of Joseon's kings and queens, with a different atmosphere from the palaces, but on some days entry is by guided tour only, so fix the date first.
Curious about the set itself? Mungyeongsaejae Open Set. It was built for filming period drama, which makes it a different kind of place, and a different trip from Seoul.
Opening hours and closing days — what to see when the day is wrong
The four Seoul sites open at the same hour but close on different days and at different times. Each table carries its operator's source beneath it.
Gyeonghuigung opening hours
| Every day | 09:00–18:00 |
|---|
Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Gyeonghuigung visitor information and history ·
Changdeokgung opening hours
| 2·3·4·5·9·10 Tue·Wed·Thu·Fri·Sat·Sun | 09:00–18:00last entry 17:00 |
|---|---|
| 6·7·8 Tue·Wed·Thu·Fri·Sat·Sun | 09:00–18:30last entry 17:30 |
| 11·12·1 Tue·Wed·Thu·Fri·Sat·Sun | 09:00–17:30last entry 16:30 |
The rear garden (Huwon) is separate timed-entry admission, capped at 100 people per slot per language — 50 online and 50 on the door — so it is not covered by these hours.
Changgyeonggung opening hours
| Tue·Wed·Thu·Fri·Sat·Sun | 09:00–21:00last entry 20:00 |
|---|
Two details are published separately and are not the palace's hours: the Yulgok-ro gate opens on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Culture Day with an earlier entry cut-off (17:00 to 18:00 depending on the month), and visitors are moved into the designated evening zone at 17:30 in November-February, 18:00 in March-May and September-October, and 18:30 in June-August.
Jongmyo hours on self-guided days
| 2·3·4·5·9·10 Sat·Sun public holidays | 09:00–18:00last entry 17:00 |
|---|---|
| 6·7·8 Sat·Sun public holidays | 09:00–18:30last entry 17:30 |
| 11·12·1 Sat·Sun public holidays | 09:00–17:30last entry 16:30 |
Closed Tuesdays — the same day as Gyeongbokgung, not the Monday the other palaces keep. The hours above are the self-guided days: Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and Culture Day, the last Wednesday of each month. Self-guided translates 자유관람 and means unescorted, not free of charge — the ordinary admission fee applies on every open day. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays the shrine is normally open only by timed guided tour, which departs at fixed times and takes about an hour. One dated exception is in force: because of extreme heat, self-guided entry is also being allowed on timed-tour days through July and August 2026, so recheck the format for September onward.
If Monday is your only day, Jongmyo is the one Seoul site open, and Monday is normally a day it is entered by timed guided tour. Treat it as a day for the accession hall alone.
If it is a Tuesday, Jongmyo is closed, so see Gyeonghuigung, Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung and leave the accession scene for another day.
If the rear-garden sessions at Changdeokgung are already full, leave Gwallamji for another time and cross the wall to Tongmyeongjeon at Changgyeonggung instead — it costs you no travel.
This guide does not give hours or entry terms for Mungyeongsaejae Open Set. Check the local operator's information separately when you plan a Mungyeong trip.
These are palaces, not sets
The four Seoul sites were not built for the series. They are working Joseon palaces and a royal shrine, with no Kingdom display and no marker, and the rules you visit under are heritage rules rather than location-tour rules. Finding the frame you remember is something you do inside those rules.
Pick the day first
Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung close on Mondays; Jongmyo closes on Tuesdays. Seeing all four in one go means avoiding both, and walking Jongmyo unescorted means preferring a weekend. The full-day order for the four Seoul locations is set out below. Treat the Mungyeongsaejae set as a separate trip from the Seoul route.
A full-day order for the four Seoul locations
Allow a full day for all four Seoul locations. If you only have half a day, leave out Gyeonghuigung and continue from Changdeokgung to Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo. Take the subway between Gyeonghuigung and Changdeokgung; the other three can be linked on foot.
| Start | Location | Stay |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Gyeonghuigung Palace | 40 min |
| 10:40 | Changdeokgung Palace | 80 min |
| 12:10 | Changgyeonggung Palace | 60 min |
| 13:25 | Jongmyo Shrine | 60 min |
- Gyeonghuigung Palace → Changdeokgung Palace — Line 5 from Seodaemun or Gwanghwamun, changing to Line 3 for Anguk Stn Exit 3 (about 30 min including the change)
- Changdeokgung Palace → Changgyeonggung Palace — On foot through Hamyangmun, the gate above the rear garden, into Changgyeonggung (about 10 min)
- Changgyeonggung Palace → Jongmyo Shrine — Across the restored palace-wall walkway over Yulgok-ro to Jongmyo (about 15 min)
In this list
- Seoul
Gyeonghuigung Palace
Sungjeongjeon Hall stands in as Gangnyeongjeon, the room where the king is kept after he turns. Visit Seoul describes it as the smallest of Seoul's five palaces, and at its innermost point Seoam, a rock, is where the young Crown Prince Lee Chang hid in the series. It does not take long, so it works well as the first of the four Seoul sites.
- The scene
- Sungjeongjeon as Gangnyeongjeon, the king's room
- What is there now
- A reconstructed throne hall and its courtyard
- Where it is
- Jongno, Seoul — the western end
- Add it when
- You only have time for one, briefly
09:00–18:00Every Mon · Jan 1Free
SeoulChangdeokgung Palace
Gwallamji, the pond in the rear garden, is the water the bodies are hidden in. What the series used here is not a hall but the garden's trees and water, so visitors who see only the front courtyards leave without having seen the place that is actually on screen. The garden charges its own fee and admits a set number of people at set times, so it is the site here that needs planning.
- The scene
- Gwallamji, the pond hiding the bodies
- What is there now
- Gwallamjeong and the garden ponds
- Where it is
- Jongno, Seoul — shares a wall with Changgyeonggung
- Add it when
- You have time for the rear garden too
Feb–May, Sep–Oct 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) · Jun–Aug 09:00–18:30 (last entry 17:30) · Jan, Nov–Dec 09:00–17:30 (last entry 16:30)Every Mon (open if it falls on a public holiday; closed the next weekday instead)₩3,000–₩5,000
SeoulChanggyeonggung Palace
Tongmyeongjeon Hall is where Crown Prince Lee Chang first appears and kneels. In the series it is Gyotaejeon, Queen Consort Cho's quarters, and in fact it was a queen's bedchamber. It shares a wall with Changdeokgung, so the two can be walked as one visit, and Visit Seoul calls it a palace that is lovelier by night than by day.
- The scene
- Tongmyeongjeon, where the crown prince kneels
- What is there now
- Tongmyeongjeon, Myeongjeongjeon and Chundangji
- Where it is
- Jongno, Seoul — adjoins Changdeokgung
- Add it when
- You are at Changdeokgung, or have an evening free
09:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00)Every Mon (open if it falls on a public holiday; closed the next weekday instead)₩1,000
SeoulJongmyo Shrine
Jeongjeon Hall carries the boy king's accession. It is the only one of the five that is a shrine rather than a palace, and it is visited differently because of it. Check first whether Jongmyo is offering self-guided entry or timed visits on your date. The rear garden at Changdeokgung also runs on scheduled admission sessions and needs separate planning.
- The scene
- Jeongjeon, where the young king takes the throne
- What is there now
- The long spirit hall under a single roof
- Where it is
- Jongno, Seoul — just south of Changgyeonggung
- Add it when
- You have checked the day and the entry format
Feb–May, Sep–Oct Sat·Sun·holidays 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) · Jun–Aug Sat·Sun·holidays 09:00–18:30 (last entry 17:30) · Jan, Nov–Dec Sat·Sun·holidays 09:00–17:30 (last entry 16:30)Every Tue (open if it falls on a public holiday; closed the next weekday instead)₩1,000
NationwideMungyeongsaejae Open Set
The interrogation of the scholars, early in season one, was shot here. Unlike the Seoul four this is not a historic building at all but a set built for period dramas, the only site on this list that was made to be filmed on. It is 131 km from Seoul and does not fit the same day.
- The scene
- The palace interrogation of the scholars
- What is there now
- A purpose-built open set for period drama
- Where it is
- Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang — 131 km from Seoul
- Add it when
- You are travelling Mungyeong or Andong separately
Frequently asked questions
Can I see all five in a day?
The four in Seoul, yes. All four are inside Jongno district; only the leg from Gyeonghuigung to Changdeokgung needs the subway, and the rest is on foot. Mungyeongsaejae Open Set is 131 km from Seoul and cannot be added to the same day — attach it to a separate trip through Mungyeong or Andong instead.
Which day of the week should I go?
A Saturday or Sunday is safest. Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung close on Mondays, and Jongmyo closes on Tuesdays, so neither of those days lets you see all four. Jongmyo is also restricted to timed guided entry on some weekdays, so a weekend is better if you want to walk it at your own pace. Each place page carries the current format.
Are any sets or props still standing?
Not at the four Seoul sites. All four are working heritage sites that were borrowed for filming, so there is no Kingdom exhibition and no marker. Only Mungyeongsaejae Open Set was built to be filmed on, and there the set itself is the thing you have come to see.
Where were the gat hat scenes filmed?
There is no single answer. The gat is Joseon-period dress rather than a location, and it appears at all five of these sites. Trying one on is something you do at a hanbok rental shop, not at a filming location.
Do I need a separate ticket for each palace?
Each palace sells its own admission, but there is also a combined ticket covering the four palaces and Jongmyo. The price, how long it stays valid and whether the rear garden at Changdeokgung is included all vary, so check the individual place pages rather than assuming one rule.
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Official sources (3)
- Fact check: Seoul Tourism Organization, Visit Seoul — the Kingdom filming locations in Seoul (scene per palace, nearest station and exit)
- Fact check: Korea Tourism Organization — Mungyeongsaejae Open Set, the home of Korea's historical dramas
- Fact check: Korea Heritage Service, Royal Palaces and Tombs Centre — opening hours and closing days by palace