# Garden of Morning Calm Light Festival: Hours, Last Bus, Tickets
The Garden of Morning Calm Light Festival in Gapyeong usually opens in early December, with the lights on from 17:00 to 21:00. Tickets are sold at the gate only, and the last bus back leaves at 20:00.
That last fact shapes the whole evening. If you come from Seoul by train and bus, your bus stops running an hour before the lights go off. This guide gives you the order of the day, the bus times the garden itself publishes, the Korean names to show a driver, and what is still unannounced for the 2026 season. Every time and price below comes from the garden's own website, checked on October 22, 2026.
Contents Plan ahead: Key facts · Getting there · Tickets | On the day: 16:00 to 17:00 · 17:00 to 21:00 · After 20:00 | Help: Help in English · FAQ · Checklist
Key facts at a glance
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| What | The Garden of Morning Calm's winter Light Festival (오색별빛정원전, Ohsaek Byeolbit Jeongwonjeon): the whole arboretum lit up every evening |
| When | Early December to mid-March every year. The 2026 dates are not announced yet; last season ran December 5, 2025 to March 15, 2026 |
| Hours during the festival | 10:00–21:00, Saturdays until 23:00. Last season the lights came on at 17:00 |
| Tickets | At the gate only, no online booking. Adults KRW 11,000, youth KRW 8,500, children KRW 7,500 (as of October 2026) |
| Getting there | Train or bus to Cheongpyeong, then bus 30-6 to its last stop at the garden |
| Last bus back | 20:00 from the garden, one hour before the lights go off |
| Help | Garden office 1544-6703 · Korea Travel Hotline 1330 (English) |
Two ways to read this guide. Coming by train and bus: read Getting there and After 20:00 first, because the last bus leaves before the lights go off. Driving or on a tour: start at Tickets.
The 2026 season has not been announced as of October 22. The garden posted last season's dates on October 11, 2025, so the 2026 notice may appear any day on its notice board. We will re-check on November 1 and November 15 and update this page.
Getting to the Garden of Morning Calm: Cheongpyeong Station, then bus 30-6
The garden sits in the hills of Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul; the nearest airports are Gimpo (GMP) and Incheon (ICN), both on the far side of Seoul.
There is no train station at the garden. You first get to Cheongpyeong (청평), a small town on the Gyeongchun rail line, and then take a local bus up the valley. The garden's directions page lists three ways to reach Cheongpyeong:
- Gyeongchun Line commuter train to Cheongpyeong Station (청평역)
- ITX-Cheongchun express train from Yongsan or Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul to Cheongpyeong Station
- Intercity bus from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and other terminals to Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal (청평터미널)
Train times and fares are not on the garden's page. Check them in the Korail app or on letskorail.com (Korail customer center 1544-7788).
Spending the morning in central Seoul first? Our Gyeongbokgung Palace guide covers a morning at the palace; leave by early afternoon to make the 15:00 to 16:00 buses from Cheongpyeong.
From Cheongpyeong, bus 30-6 runs to the garden. It starts at Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal, stops at Cheongpyeong Station on the way, and ends at the garden.
Board bus 30-6 at Cheongpyeong Terminal or Cheongpyeong Station and get off at the last stop, the arboretum. Original (Korean): 청평터미널 및 청평역에서 승차 (버스 30-6) - 수목원 종점 하차 — The Garden of Morning Calm · Directions
The garden publishes departures from Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal only. The bus calls at Cheongpyeong Station after leaving the terminal, but the station times are not listed, so if you board at the station, wait at the stop from the terminal departure time. Times after noon, for an evening visit:
| Leaves Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal | Good for |
|---|---|
| 13:00 · 13:30 · 14:00 · 15:00 | A daylight walk first, then the lights |
| 15:30 · 16:00 | Arriving just before the lights come on |
| 17:20 · 17:50 · 18:10 | Arriving after the lights are on; little time before the 20:00 last bus |
| 19:30 | Too late for a bus home: the last bus back leaves the garden at 20:00 |
The garden's page does not give the bus travel time. To be at the gate before 17:00, take the 15:00, 15:30 or 16:00 bus; the earlier one leaves room for a slow road.
Gapyeong City Tour Bus. The garden also lists this loop bus, which links Gapyeong's main sights. A one-day ticket is KRW 8,000 for adults, with unlimited rides that day, and it does not run on Wednesdays. On the schedule the garden shows, its last departure from the garden is 18:25, so it helps for an early evening but not for the end of the show.
Tickets: sold at the gate only, no online booking
You cannot book ahead, and you do not need to. The garden says so twice: on its visitor information page and in a notice posted on March 1, 2026 that tells visitors to come without an online booking and buy at the ticket office.
Admission tickets are sold on site only. Original (Korean): 입장권은 현장 매표만 가능합니다. — The Garden of Morning Calm · Visitor information
So there is nothing to sell out. Arrive, queue at the ticket office, and pay. The fee page does not list a separate price for the Light Festival, so the regular prices below are what the garden shows as of October 2026.
Practical info: The Garden of Morning Calm
Photo: 날개 at Korean Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Item | The Garden of Morning Calm |
|---|---|
| Korean name | 아침고요수목원 (show this to taxi drivers) |
| Address | 432 Sumogwon-ro, Sang-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do (경기도 가평군 상면 수목원로 432) |
| Bus | 30-6 from Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal (청평터미널) or Cheongpyeong Station (청평역); get off at the last stop |
| Hours | Light Festival season 10:00–21:00, Saturdays until 23:00 · rest of the year 08:30–19:00 |
| Admission | Adults KRW 11,000 · youth KRW 8,500 · children KRW 7,500 (as of October 2026) |
| Discounts | Adults 65 and over, veterans and people with disabilities KRW 9,000 with ID |
| Booking | Not available; buy at the ticket office |
| Phone | 1544-6703 |
| Official site | The Garden of Morning Calm · Visitor information |
The garden defines children as 36 months old to elementary school age. Discounts apply only if you show a relevant ID card. The page does not say whether a foreign passport counts as proof of age, so ask at the ticket office before you pay.
Two rules matter before you buy: tickets are not refunded because of rain, and you cannot leave and come back in on the same ticket.
16:00 to 17:00: arrive before the lights come on
Aim to be at the ticket office by about 16:30. Last season the garden turned the lights on at 17:00, and its poster for that season described lighting from sunset until 21:00.
The Light Festival lighting starts at 17:00. Original (Korean): 오색별빛정원전 점등시간은 17:00에 진행됩니다. — The Garden of Morning Calm · Notice of extended hours, December 2025
The 2026 lighting time has not been announced, so treat 17:00 as last season's time, not a promise. Arriving half an hour early also gives you time to queue for tickets and pick up a wheelchair or stroller before dark.
Last entry is the other time to know. The garden's general rule is last entry one hour before closing, which would mean about 20:00 on festival weekdays and 22:00 on Saturdays. Its page does not state a separate last-entry time for the festival, so if you plan to arrive late, call 1544-6703 first.
17:00 to 21:00: Light Festival hours and garden rules
During the festival season the garden keeps longer hours than the rest of the year.
During the Light Festival, from early December each year to mid-March of the following year, the hours are 10:00 to 21:00, extended to 23:00 on Saturdays only. Original (Korean): 오색별빛정원전 기간인 매년 12월초 ~ 이듬해 3월 중순까지는 10:00 ~ 21:00 이며, 토요일만 23시까지 연장 운영됩니다. — The Garden of Morning Calm · Visitor information
Last season the garden also stayed open until 22:00 on December 24, 25 and 31, and on January 1, 2026. Those were one-off notices, so do not count on the same nights in 2026 until the garden posts them.
The garden asks visitors to keep to the marked paths, and the whole site is no smoking and no alcohol. Drones and stepping into the flower beds for photos are not allowed. Pets cannot come in.
After 20:00: the last bus leaves before the lights go off
Plan your exit before you go in. Bus 30-6 leaves the garden for Cheongpyeong four times in the evening, and then stops.
| Leaves the garden (bus 30-6) | Note |
|---|---|
| 18:00 · 18:30 · 18:50 | About one to two hours under the lights |
| 20:00 | Last bus; the garden stays lit until 21:00 (23:00 on Saturdays) |
Buses toward Cheongpyeong pass Cheongpyeong Station before ending at Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal, so stay on until the station if you are taking the train. These times come from the garden's directions page.
If you want to stay until 21:00 or later, the garden lists no bus after 20:00. Either drive, come on a tour that includes the return, or arrange a taxi before you enter. Show the driver 청평역 (Cheongpyeong Station) or 청평터미널 (Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal). The garden is about 6.6 km in a straight line from Cheongpyeong Station by OpenStreetMap coordinates; road distance is longer.
The train home. Unverified: the last train times from Cheongpyeong Station to Seoul are not listed on any official page we could open. Check the Korail app or letskorail.com on the morning of your trip, or call Korail at 1544-7788 or the 1330 hotline.
Help in English: the garden office and 1330
For anything about the garden itself (dates, lighting time, wheelchairs, last entry), call the garden at 1544-6703.
For help with transport, or if you need someone to talk to a driver or the ticket office for you, call 1330, the Korea Travel Hotline run by the Korea Tourism Organization. Busan Metropolitan City's English guide describes it like this:
Information provided 24 hours a day in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese (other languages: 8:00a.m. to 7:00p.m.) — Busan Metropolitan City · Foreigner support
Dial 1330 inside Korea or +82-2-1330 from overseas.
FAQ
Can I bring my dog? No. The garden's FAQ says pets cannot enter the grounds (The Garden of Morning Calm · Visitor information).
Can I borrow a wheelchair or a stroller? Yes, at the ticket check point. A wheelchair needs a KRW 1,000 deposit, and a stroller costs KRW 2,000 including a KRW 1,000 deposit; deposits are returned when you bring it back. The page does not describe slopes or step-free routes, so call 1544-6703 if you need details.
What happens if it rains? The garden stays open, but tickets are not refunded because of rain. Check the forecast before you buy.
Can I leave and come back in? No. Once you leave, you cannot re-enter on the same ticket, so have dinner before you go in or after you leave for good.
Can I stay overnight at the garden? No. The garden has no lodging, so book a room in Gapyeong or Cheongpyeong, or return to Seoul the same evening.
Before you go: checklist
- Check the garden's notice board for the 2026 dates
- Take the 15:30 or 16:00 bus 30-6 from Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal
- Bring cash or a card for tickets at the gate (adults KRW 11,000)
- Leave the garden by the 20:00 bus, or arrange a taxi before you go in
- Look up your train home from Cheongpyeong Station before you set off
- Save 1544-6703 (garden) and 1330 (English help) in your phone
Official sources
- The Garden of Morning Calm · Visitor information: hours, Light Festival hours, ticket prices and discounts, on-site tickets only, visitor rules, FAQ (checked October 22, 2026)
- The Garden of Morning Calm · Directions: address, ways to reach Cheongpyeong, bus 30-6 timetable, Gapyeong City Tour Bus (checked October 22, 2026)
- The Garden of Morning Calm · Notices: 2025 season dates (notice), lighting time and extended hours (notice, notice), ticket purchase (notice); no 2026 season notice yet (checked October 22, 2026)
- The Garden of Morning Calm · English page: English name and ticket prices (checked October 22, 2026)
- Busan Metropolitan City · Foreigner support: 1330 Korea Travel Hotline (checked October 22, 2026)
Every fact in this article was checked one by one against the official sources listed above.