Time in Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
The current local time in Seoul, South Korea is shown below — the city is in the Asia/Seoul time zone (UTC +09:00).
Seoul local time
Friday, 23 October 2026 GMT+9
Seoul at a glance
- Time zone
Asia/Seoul· Korea Standard Time- UTC offset now
- +09:00 GMT+9
- Daylight saving
- No · UTC +09:00 all year
- Coordinates
- 37.57° N, 126.98° E
- Population
- 9,776,000
- Country
- South Korea · ISO KR
- Dialing code
- +82
- Currency
- South Korean Won (KRW)
- Work week
- Monday to Friday
- Drives on the
- Right
Seoul right now
Time difference
Seoul is shown here relative to your device's time zone.
Planning a call? Compare hours side by side in the time zone converter.
Upcoming public holidays
- Christmas Day Fri, Dec 25, 2026
- New Year's Day Fri, Jan 1, 2027
- Korean New Year Sun, Feb 7, 2027
- Independence Movement Day Mon, Mar 1, 2027
Sun today
Sunrise 06:48 · Sunset 17:46
Day length 10h 58m · twilight and monthly table →
Seoul time vs. UTC
A 09:00–17:00 working day in Seoul doesn't overlap with 09:00–17:00 UTC. Open this page in your browser and the second row switches to your own time zone.
| Seoul | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 |
- Office hours 09–17
- Awake, off work
- Night 22–07
Seoul vs. major cities
How far Seoul is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Seoul, and which hours of a 09:00–17:00 day the two places share. Daylight saving changes are applied automatically.
| City | Difference | At 09:00 in Seoul | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −13 h | 20:00 (prev. day) | None |
| Los Angeles · United States | −16 h | 17:00 (prev. day) | None |
| São Paulo · Brazil | −12 h | 21:00 (prev. day) | None |
| London · United Kingdom | −8 h | 01:00 | None |
| Paris · France | −7 h | 02:00 | 16:00–17:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | −7 h | 02:00 | 16:00–17:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | −5 h | 04:00 | 14:00–17:00 |
| Delhi · India | −3:30 h | 05:30 | 12:30–17:00 |
| Singapore · Singapore | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| Beijing · China | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
Shared office hours are shown in Seoul time. Compare any set of cities hour by hour in the time zone converter, or pick a slot that suits everyone with the event planner.
Cities near Seoul
The closest places to Seoul among the cities we track, measured in a straight line from the city centre. Some of them keep a different clock, so check the time difference before crossing a border or booking a call.
| City | Distance | Time difference |
|---|---|---|
| Busan | 330 km (200 mi) southeast | Same time |
| Vladivostok · Russia | 740 km (460 mi) northeast | +1 h |
| Osaka · Japan | 830 km (520 mi) east | Same time |
| Kyoto · Japan | 840 km (520 mi) east | Same time |
| Shanghai · China | 870 km (540 mi) southwest | −1 h |
| Nagoya · Japan | 930 km (580 mi) east | Same time |
| Beijing · China | 950 km (590 mi) west | −1 h |
| Tokyo · Japan | 1,150 km (710 mi) east | Same time |
Distances are great-circle distances. A plus sign means the other city is ahead of Seoul.
Clock time vs. sun time in Seoul
Seoul's standard offset, UTC +09:00, is based on the 135° E meridian; the city itself lies at 126.98° E, 8.0° west of it. In standard time its clocks run about 32 min ahead of the sun. Solar noon — when the sun is highest — falls between 12:16 (around 5 November) and 12:47 (around 5 February) on the clock. Mornings stay dark later and evenings stay light longer than the clock suggests.
How dates and times are written in Seoul
- Short date
- 2026. 10. 22. · YYYY. MM. DD.
- Long date
- 2026년 10월 22일
- Time
- 오후 3:30 · 12-hour clock
- Week starts on
- Sunday
Examples show 22 October 2026 at 15:30 using the Unicode CLDR conventions for ko-KR, South Korea's most common locale. Businesses and English-language sources may use other formats.
Clock changes in Seoul
Since 1970, Seoul has gone through 3 distinct time-keeping periods, observing daylight saving time in 2 of 57 years. Since 1989 it has stayed on UTC +09:00 all year.
No clock changes are scheduled in 2026 or 2027: Seoul stays on UTC +09:00 all year.
Time zone history since 1970 (3 periods)
| Years | Offset | Daylight saving |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–1986 | UTC +09:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1987–1988 | UTC +09:00, DST UTC +10:00 | Daylight saving dates varied from year to year |
| 1989–2026 | UTC +09:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
Source: IANA tz database, as shipped with the Unicode ICU library.
Daylight in Seoul through the year
The longest day in Seoul is 22 June with 14h 46m of daylight; the shortest is 22 December with 9h 34m. Day length swings by 5 h 12 min over the year. The earliest sunrise is at 05:11 on 9 June and the latest sunset at 19:58 on 22 June — not on the solstice itself, because solar noon drifts through the year.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Seoul in?
Seoul uses the Asia/Seoul time zone: UTC +09:00 all year round.
Does Seoul observe daylight saving time?
No. Seoul does not currently change its clocks; it last observed daylight saving time in 1988.
When is the longest day of the year in Seoul?
Around 22 June, with 14h 46m of daylight. The shortest day is around 22 December, with 9h 34m.
What is the dialing code for Seoul?
To call Seoul from abroad, dial your international access code, then South Korea's country code +82, then the local number without its leading trunk prefix.
What are normal working days in Seoul?
The standard work week in South Korea runs Monday to Friday, with the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Keep this in mind when scheduling calls from countries with a different weekend.
Why is sunset so late in Seoul?
Seoul lies at 126.98° E, 8.0° west of the 135° E meridian its UTC +09:00 offset is based on, so its clocks run about 32 min ahead of the sun. Solar noon falls between 12:16 and 12:47 through the year instead of around 12:00, and the latest sunset is at 19:58 on 22 June.
What is the nearest city to Seoul on a different time?
Of the 189 cities we track, the closest one keeping a different clock is Vladivostok, Russia, about 740 km (460 mi) to the northeast. It is 1 h ahead of Seoul.
How are dates and times written in Seoul?
Following the ko-KR conventions in the Unicode CLDR, a short date is written YYYY. MM. DD. (2026. 10. 22.) and times usually use the 12-hour clock (오후 3:30). Calendars start the week on Sunday.
Explore more for Seoul
Everything else we track for Seoul: daylight, weather, the country overview, and the exact time-zone references.