Changdeokgung nighttime tours with royal court music to be held in April

Tickets for Changdeokgung nighttime tours featuring a performance of “gugak,” or traditional Korean music, taking place April 3-6 went on sale online Tuesday.

There will be two tours daily, at 6:30 p.m. and 6:40 p.m., each limited to 15 people, starting with a look inside Huijeong Hall and ending at Daejo Hall, where musicians from the National Gugak Center will give a 30-minute performance. The tours end at 8 p.m.

“The musicians will perform royal court music on traditional string and wind instruments,” said an official at the Cultural Heritage Administration, the agency organizing the event, noting that participants can also expect to see a royal dance performance.

Huijeong Hall, restored in 1920 after it was destroyed in a fire in 1917, highlights how the royals of the Joseon era lived, according to the CHA. Chandeliers and other fixtures at the hall offer a glimpse into the royal palace’s transition to modern times.

Visitors will be given a headset and a receiver with which they can listen to the guide’s explanations, according to a CHA official.

Tour tickets are available at tickets.interpark.com, priced at 20,000 won per person and limited to the purchase of two tickets.