Nighttime Blue House tours to begin for limited time next month

The poster for the upcoming nighttime tour at the Blue House, which will run from July 20 to Aug. 1. [CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION]

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced Tuesday that it will hold nighttime tours at the Blue House from July 20 to Aug. 1.

The tours will be held twice a day, with the first starting at 7:30 p.m. and the second starting at 8:10 p.m. Tours will be limited to 50 people. Participants will receive a guided tour to learn about the Blue House’s history and significance and hear stories about the different buildings and sites.

Ticket sales for the nighttime tour opened from 10 a.m. Tuesday at Ticket Interpark. Admission is free of charge, but participants will be selected through a lottery system. One person can sign up for only two tickets. Announcements of the ticket winners will be made on July 14.

During the nighttime tour, visitors won’t have to line up to go into the Main Office Building as only 50 people in this group will be making a visit there. The group will also take a look around the exterior of the Sangchunjae guesthouse and the Nokjiwon garden.

Currently, the Blue House is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors have to make a reservation prior to visiting via reserve.opencheongwadae.kr. For foreigners and the elderly who are not able to use the online reservation site, on-site ticketing will be available for 1,000 people — 500 in the morning from 9 a.m. and 500 in the afternoon from 1:30 p.m. For foreigners, a foreign registration card or a passport is needed to receive an entrance ticket, which is free of charge. The Blue House will remain closed on Tuesdays.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]