Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour 2026 Second-Half Schedule: Dates, Sessions, and What Is Confirmed

The 2026 second-half schedule for the Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour is listed for September 10 to October 17, 2026. The confirmed plan is for the program to run every Thursday through Sunday, with six sessions per day across 23 operating days, for a total of 138 sessions.¹

For readers planning a Seoul palace night visit, the key point is that the second-half operating window is confirmed in the Korea Heritage Agency program record, while detailed second-half ticket application dates and per-session times have not been provided in the available 2026 second-half source material. The most useful approach is to separate what is confirmed for autumn 2026 from details that currently come only from the first-half program or earlier-year notices.

2026 Second-Half Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour Schedule

The Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour is part of the annual palace-use cultural program centered on nighttime access to Changdeokgung. For 2026, the Korea Heritage Agency material lists the overall regular operating period as April 16 to October 17, with the second-half segment specifically scheduled from September 10 to October 17.¹

The second-half schedule is compact but frequent: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday operations, six sessions per day, 23 total operating days, and 138 total sessions.¹ This matters because the event is not presented as a daily autumn program. Visitors should check their target date against the Thursday-to-Sunday pattern before making surrounding travel plans.

The same 2026 program record also lists a separate special event on July 30, 2026, with six sessions.¹ That date should not be confused with the second-half run, which begins on September 10.

What the Tour Usually Includes

The 2026 first-half official announcement describes the program as a palace cultural experience combining nighttime exploration, professional commentary, and traditional performing arts.² This gives useful context for the autumn schedule, although the detailed second-half course and booking notice should still be checked when the official second-half sales information is released.

For the 2026 first-half program, the event was held at Changdeokgung from April 16 to May 31. The listed session times were divided into two parts: 19:10, 19:15, and 19:20 for Part 1, and 20:00, 20:05, and 20:10 for Part 2. The participation fee was 30,000 won per person, with 28 participants per session and 168 participants per day.³

Those first-half figures are useful as a reference point because they show how the 2026 program was structured earlier in the year. However, they should not be treated as final second-half ticketing terms unless repeated in the later official autumn notice.

The Korea Tourism Organization’s event information describes the program route as extending from Geumhomun through the rear garden forest path, with traditional performances at locations including Sangnyangjeong and Yeongyeongdang. It also identifies the organizers as the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service and the Korea Heritage Agency, and lists the participation fee as 30,000 won per person.⁴

News coverage of the 2026 spring program also described participants carrying cheongsachorong lanterns while visiting major Changdeokgung spaces such as Injeongjeon, Nakseonjae, Yeongyeongdang, and areas around the rear garden with a professional commentator, along with traditional performances.⁵ The same report noted that English and Chinese-language events were prepared for the spring schedule.⁵

Booking and Planning Notes for Autumn 2026

The available 2026 second-half source confirms the dates and operating scale, but it does not provide the second-half ticket application period, sales platform, refund rules, or final per-session times. For comparison only, the 2026 first-half application period ran from March 23 to March 29, and the official first-half announcement said lottery applications opened at 2 p.m. on March 23.³²

A previous 2025 second-half notice from the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center listed that year’s autumn event from September 4 to October 26, operating Thursday to Sunday, with reception from August 13 at 14:00 through August 19 at 23:59.⁶ Because that record is for 2025, it should be used only as background for how earlier autumn notices were structured, not as the 2026 booking schedule.

For practical planning, the safest confirmed checklist is simple: choose dates between September 10 and October 17, 2026; limit those choices to Thursday through Sunday; expect six daily sessions; and wait for the official 2026 second-half booking notice before treating ticket times, application dates, or language-session availability as final.

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Patrick Choi

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