People in hanbok are lining up to go in at the front of Gyeongbokgung. But if you look closely, a lot of them are speaking a language other than Korean. The line to buy tickets is long, but the people in hanbok just walk right past it. What on earth is going on? ## Is it really free if you wear hanbok? At Seoul's major palaces, people wearing hanbok often aren't charged an admission fee. However, the rules can change. Be sure to check the official website of each palace before you go. The scope of what counts as hanbok is also explained there. ## Why Is It Free, and Who Wears It? The palaces are where kings lived long ago. So walking around in clothes from that era blends in nicely with the palace atmosphere. When more people wear hanbok, people come to feel closer to hanbok and to our culture. So it's a system created to encourage people to wear hanbok. It's like a greeting that welcomes people who are wearing hanbok. There are many hanbok rental shops near the palaces, so you can rent one for a few hours. Even international students rent a hanbok first thing on the day they go to the palace. Koreans rent them too, but many tourists rent them to take photos. So someone wearing a hanbok isn't necessarily Korean. ## Is there anything I should be careful about when wearing one? Ask the rental shop whether their hanbok is accepted for entry to the palace. Comfortable shoes are best. There are a lot of stone-paved paths inside the palace. If the skirt hem is long, it's easy to step on it on the stairs, so be careful. Each palace has a different closing day, so check the opening hours for the day you plan to go.