Deoksugung Palace is located at City Hall station and was initially used as a residence Grand Prince Wolsan who was the oldest brother of King Seongjong. This palace is surrounded by modern skyscrapers and feels like a walking through a secret garden portal. This palace used to be lived in by Korea’s royal family up until 1910 when the Japanese invaded. I was surprised to read that what we see today within the palace, is one third of the grounds that it use to have and the buildings that exist within are one tenth of what it use to be.

Deoksugung Palace was actually the first palace that I set food in when I was in South Korea. Braving (and not succeeding) the heat and humidity on a summer weekend. These palace grounds are small and not as overwhelming as Gyeongbokgung Palace up the road. Here, I got to potter around and was able to take in all the small details that I probably would’ve missed otherwise had it been bigger.

The changing of the guards occurs between Deoksugung and Gyeongbokgung Palace. On this particular day I was waiting within the Palace awaiting the changing of the guards only to find that they guards were coming to Deoksugung from Gyeonbokgung! I did manage to exit and catch the guards marching towards Deoksugung. Note: the changing of the guards starts from outside the Palace not inside.

Inside the grounds, there is a Daehan Empire History Museum which requires you to put your name down on the list at the entrance of the museum for a free guided tour. It’s a first come first served basis and according to their website, tours run at 11:50 and 14:50.

Admission to Deoksugung Palace is only ￦ 1,000 for those aged between 19 and 64. Entry is free for anyone wearing hanboks, on the last Wednesday of every month (Culture day) or aged under 18/over 65.

If you’re looking for a smaller Palace to visit or just in the area, be sure to take a break and step back in time.