The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Cultural Heritage Administration and Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation on March 18 announced the launch of the K-Royal Palaces Pass, which offers unlimited access to Seoul's five major palaces of Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung. Ten thousand of a special edition of the passes are available for purchase. (Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation)

By Park Hyeri

The newly launched K-Royal Palaces Pass allows unlimited entry into Seoul's five major palaces.

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Cultural Heritage Administration and Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation (CHF) on March 18 announced the sale of 10,000 special-edition passes for the K-Royal Culture Festival through April 26.

The event is held every spring and fall at the capital's five major palaces of Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung as well as Jongmyo Shrine. The festival is the nation's largest for cultural heritage and this year's edition will run from April 27 to May 5.

Last year, 1,000 passes were sold under a pilot program to domestic visitors. To expand access, this year's program features 10,000 passes priced at KRW 10,000 each sold on both domestic and international platforms.

Sale of the pass began on March 18 through global travel platforms like Klook, Trippose and Travelnote. They will be followed in order by KKday, JollyBuy, Imoto Wi-Fi and HanYouWang.

The domestic pre-sale begins on April 5 on Ticketlink. The first 200 buyers can use the pass to enter the festival's opening ceremony on April 26.

The new pass offers several benefits. The physical version doubles as a T-money public transportation card usable even after the festival. To mark the 10th anniversary of the event, it comes pre-loaded with KRW 3,000.

Additionally, pass holders can get discounts like 10% off cultural products and beverages sold at souvenir stores within the palaces and Incheon International Airport, 10% off a full-course meal at the leading restaurant Korean House and 30% off tickets for the musical "The Tribe" at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

Passes unsold online can be purchased on-site. For more information, visit the websites of the CHF (https://www.chf.or.kr/chf/eng) or the festival (https://www.chf.or.kr/fest/en).

hrhr@korea.kr