Korea, explained from the source. Visas, entry and working in Korea, plus the festivals and events worth planning a trip around. Not press summaries: we read the official notices, the law and the public records ourselves, and we say what we could not verify.
Image generated with ChatGPT for illustration purposes. Paying more than the board says is one of the oldest complaints visitors bring home from Korea, and in 2026 the government changed the penalty for restaurants. Since September 1, an eatery, café or bakery that has no visible price list, or that takes more money than its own list shows, is closed for five days the first time inspectors confirm it. A repeat costs ten days and a third case twenty. Before the change, a first case ended with an order to fix the problem and nothing more. The step comes from a broader package announced on February 25 at a national tourism meeting. That plan also promised seasonal price caps declared in advance by hotels and guesthouses, faster license suspensions for taxi drivers who overcharge, and removal from gift-voucher schemes for businesses that are penalised. On the pages I checked on October 31, only the restaurant rule had actually been written into law; the others were still listed as plans....
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Hangul Exhibition Seoul: Free 100th-Year Show Until Feb 9, 2027
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AI 일러스트 · AI-generated illustration (background scene). Card facts: hangeul.go.kr · much.go.kr · sejongpac.or.kr Image generated with Canva Magic Media (background scene) for illustration purposes.
Hangul Day (한글날) celebrates the Korean alphabet, and 2026 is a round-number year twice over. The National Hangeul Museum has named 2026 the "Year of Hangeul" (한글의 해) because three anniversaries land together: 580 years since King Sejong's Hunminjeongeum was promulgated in 1446, 100 years since the first Hangul Day celebration in 1926, and 100 years since the Korean braille alphabet, Hunmaengjeongeum, was announced on November 4, 1926.
Hangul Day itself, Friday, October 9, has passed. The anniversary year has not. If you want to see something about the Korean alphabet in Seoul between now and February, the first fact to know is that the obvious destination is shut: the National Hangeul Museum in Yongsan has been closed since September 2025. Its 100th-anniversary exhibition is in Gwanghwamun instead, free, until February 9, 2027.
Everything below comes from a Korean government or institution page, opened between September 25 and October 7, 2026. I opened the exhibition page, the host museum's homepage and the Sejong Story visitor page again on October 21, 2026, and the dates, hours and closure days below still match them.
The museum that is closed: National Hangeul Museum
Search for a Hangul museum in Seoul and the National Hangeul Museum comes up first. It will not help you until 2028. I read through the museum's own notice, posted September 9, 2025: "국립한글박물관은 화재 피해 시설 복구 및 기존 증축공사를 위해 2028년 하반기까지 휴관합니다" — the museum is closed until the second half of 2028 to repair fire damage and finish an extension. The same notice says exhibitions and education programs move to outside venues. The homepage banner, checked on September 26, still reads "새단장을 위해 휴관합니다" (closed for renovation).
So the museum's program for the anniversary year runs elsewhere. The main one for visitors is an exhibition in central Seoul.
The 100th-anniversary exhibition, open until February 9, 2027
The National Hangeul Museum organized a special exhibition for the 100th anniversary of Hangul Day with the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, the Korean Language Society (한글학회) and the King Sejong Memorial Society. Its Korean title, 일구이륙 무한이륙, is a pun on the digits of 1926.
Item
Detail
Dates
October 2, 2026 to February 9, 2027
Venue
National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, 3rd floor theme hall (Gwanghwamun)
Hours
10:00-18:00 Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun; 10:00-21:00 Wed and Sat; last entry 30 minutes before closing
Closed
January 1 and February 7, 2027 (Seollal)
Admission
Free (the host museum's homepage lists 관람료 무료)
Guided tours
Wednesdays and Fridays, groups of 10 to 30 only
School groups
Groups of 20 or more students must book on the host museum's website; unbooked school groups are turned away
Parking
None; use public transport
I compared the exhibition page with the host museum's homepage: both give 10:00 to 18:00 with late opening to 21:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the host museum's regular closure days are January 1, Seollal and Chuseok. For an evening visit, Wednesdays and Saturdays run to 21:00. The two closure days in the run are New Year's Day (Friday, January 1, 2027) and Seollal day (Sunday, February 7, 2027), two days before the exhibition ends. An online VR version is linked from the exhibition page if you cannot be in Seoul.
Sejong Story under Gwanghwamun Square
Sejong Story (세종이야기), the underground exhibition hall about King Sejong beneath Gwanghwamun Square, is the other obvious stop, and it is a short walk from the exhibition above. The Sejong Center's visitor page says admission is free and the hours are 10:00 to 18:30 (last entry 18:00). Through November 30, a Seoul city program (야금야금) extends opening to 21:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with last entry at 20:30.
The hall closes every Monday for maintenance. When a Monday is a public holiday, the page says it opens that day and closes on the first weekday after the holiday instead, so check the visitor page before a holiday week. The evening extension to 21:00 ends after November 30; from December the posted hours are 10:00 to 18:30.
A half day at Gwanghwamun
The exhibition, Sejong Story and the Sejong Center sit within a few minutes' walk of each other around Gwanghwamun Square, with Gyeongbokgung at the north end. A workable order is the exhibition first (it is upstairs and quieter in the morning), then Sejong Story below the square, then the palace. Check the palace's weekly closing day before you go; palaces in Seoul close one weekday each week, and the day differs by palace.
Hangul Day 2026, for the record
Ceremony. The Ministry of Culture's October 6 press release set the 580th Hangul Day ceremony for 10 a.m. on Friday, October 9, at the Sejong Center, where the 2026 Hangul merit awards were presented.
Hangul Hanmadang. The National Hangeul Museum's schedule notice put the family festival on Gwanghwamun Square October 6 to 8 (12:00-20:00) and at the National Museum of Korea plaza on October 9 (12:00-18:00).
Next year. Hangul Day 2027 falls on Saturday, October 9.
Is the National Hangeul Museum open? No. The museum has been closed since September 2025 and says it will stay closed until the second half of 2028. Its 100th-anniversary exhibition is at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Gwanghwamun.
How long does the Hangul exhibition run? From October 2, 2026 to February 9, 2027, at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, 3rd floor. It is closed on January 1 and February 7, 2027.
Is the Hangul exhibition free? Yes. The host museum lists free admission. Guided tours are only for booked groups of 10 to 30 on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Can I visit in the evening? Yes, on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 21:00, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. Sejong Story nearby is open to 21:00 on most evenings through November 30.
What is special about 2026 for Hangul? It is the 100th anniversary of the first Hangul Day celebration (1926) and the 580th year since Hunminjeongeum was promulgated (1446). The National Hangeul Museum has designated 2026 the Year of Hangeul.
AI 일러스트 · AI-generated illustration (background scene, not the museum's real gallery). Card facts: museum.go.kr Image generated with Canva Magic Media (background scene) for illustration purposes. Last checked: 2026-10-26 · Sources: NMK viewing hours · NMK reservations and ticketing · Notice of closures, Aug 26, 2026 · Central Asia Gallery closure notice · Directions · Parking · National Museum of Korea, English home and exhibition list · Current exhibitions (Korean) · Upcoming special exhibitions (Korean) · Kunsthaus Zürich exhibition page (Korean) · What changed recently: The Korean Table closed on Sunday, October 25, after three free days; it no longer appears on the museum's current-exhibitions list. The next paid show is Birth of Modern Art from the Kunsthaus Zürich collection, November 27, 2026 to April 18, 2027, with early-bird tickets at 12,000 won on sale since October 13. The Dunhuang manuscripts opened in the Central Asia Gallery on October 23.
Image generated with Gemini 3.1 Flash Image for illustration purposes. Last checked: 2026-10-24 (KST) · Sources: AREX press release on the extra express runs, posted Oct 21, 2026 · AREX express timetable · AREX delay notice, Oct 14, 2026 · Incheon Airport Seoul late-night bus page · What changed recently: from Thursday, October 23 the non-stop express between Incheon Airport and Seoul Station runs 56 times a day instead of 52, with the extra trains placed between 11:00 and 18:00. AREX says the all-stop timetable was partly reset to fit them. Separately, AREX has warned since October 14 that all-stop trains may run late during a union work-to-rule action.
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