Nighttime tours of Changdeok Palace to begin this week

In this Aug. 14, 2020, file photo, women take selfies during a Changdeok Palace tour at night. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Nighttime tours of Changdeok Palace, one of the royal palaces of the Joseon Dynasty in central Seoul, will start later this week, cultural heritage authorities said Tuesday.

The special night tours of Changdeok Palace in Jongno Ward will kick off Saturday and go through Oct. 25, every Thursday to Sunday, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA).

CHA added a special course for this year's tour, opening Jondeokjeong Pavilion and the famous Banwolji pond to the public for the first time during the night. With the new courses, the night walks will take approximately 100 minutes.

To prevent possible infections of the new coronavirus, authorities said the tours will be comprised of groups of 20, four times a day. The groups will leave for the tour 20 minutes apart to enable social distancing among visitors.

All visitors will be required to take precautionary measures against COVID-19, including wearing face masks, using hand sanitizer and checking temperatures to attend the tour.

"We hope the visitors enjoy the beautiful scenery of the old palace and traditional art performances, and feel the romantic mood in a relaxed manner amid the usual bustle of their daily lives, strolling the garden of the Changdeok Palace," an official affiliated with CHA was quoted as saying in a press release.

Tickets, 30,000 won (US$25.84) per person, will be available for purchase at an online website (http://ticket.auction.co.kr) starting at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Changdeok Palace, recognized by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage Site, was built in 1405 by King Taejong, the third ruler of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), and is known to be one of the most well-preserved royal palaces in South Korea. (Yonhap)

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