Current time in Seoul

Korea Standard Time, the same as Tokyo

Seoul uses Korea Standard Time (KST), nine hours ahead of UTC, all year. Tokyo has exactly the same time, and Beijing is one hour behind. By its longitude, 127 degrees east, Seoul would sit about half an hour behind its official clock, so the sun is highest at around 12:30 instead of noon. London is nine hours behind in winter and eight in summer; Los Angeles is seventeen or sixteen hours behind.

Half an hour that came and went

Korea set its clocks to UTC+8:30 in 1908, a fair match for its position. In 1912, under Japanese rule, they were moved to UTC+9. South Korea went back to UTC+8:30 in 1954 and returned to UTC+9 in 1961. North Korea repeated the experiment: it introduced “Pyongyang Time” at UTC+8:30 in August 2015 and realigned with Seoul in May 2018, shortly after a summit between the two leaders.

Daylight saving for the Olympic Games

South Korea last used daylight saving time in 1987 and 1988, the years around the Seoul Olympic Games. Moving the clocks forward placed more of the finals at hours that suited television audiences in the United States. The measure ended after the Games and has not come back, although business groups have proposed it from time to time. For planning purposes, Seoul’s clock can be treated as fixed.

Seoul: time zone at a glance

Time zone

Asia/Seoul

UTC offset

UTC+9, all year

Clock changes

None scheduled

Dates reflect the rules in force when this page was last updated. Governments can change them at short notice.

Plan a meeting in Seoul

Use the actual meeting date. Seasonal clock changes can alter the time difference.

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