What time is it in South Korea?
GMT+9 · Asia/Seoul
Back to South KoreaNow in Seoul
GMT+9 UTC+09:00
UTC+09:00
all yearKorean Standard Time
South Korea keeps a single time zone, Korea Standard Time, nine hours ahead of UTC, and its clocks do not change in summer. The offset has a political history: the Korean Empire set the country's first standard time at eight and a half hours ahead of Greenwich in 1908, the Japanese colonial government moved it to nine hours in 1912 to match Japan, Syngman Rhee's government returned to eight and a half in 1954, and Park Chung Hee's military government restored nine hours in 1961, where it has stayed.
Today
Daylight in Seoul today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 06:27First light 06:01
- Sunset
- 18:16Last light 18:42
- Day length
- 11 h 50 min−2 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:21Sun at 50°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in South Korea and elsewhere
The two rows are the same day, hour for hour. Pick a city, then an hour, and the line between the rows marks the office hours both sides share.
Time difference
How far South Korea is from other places
Neighbours
- ChinaBeijing−1 h
- JapanTokyoSame time
- North KoreaPyongyangSame time
Around the world
- London−8 h
- New York−13 h
- Los Angeles−16 h
- São Paulo−12 h
- Moscow−6 h
- Dubai−5 h
- Delhi−3:30 h
- Sydney+1 h
Clock changes
South Korea does not change its clocks
The time zone database records three spells of summer time, when clocks went one hour ahead: from 1948 to 1951, from 1955 to 1960, and in 1987 and 1988. The last was tied to the Seoul Olympics. From 8 May to 9 October 1988 the clocks ran at ten hours ahead of UTC, so that daytime events could be shown live in prime time on the east coast of the United States. Summer time has not been used since.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Seoul
- Sunrise
- 06:27
- Sunset
- 18:16
- Daylight
- 11 h 50 min
- Change
- −2 min
Longest day of 2026: 19 June, 14 h 46 min.
Computed for 37.56, 126.99 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 12-hour
- Short date
- 26. 3. 5.
- Long date
- 2026년 3월 5일
- Week starts
- Sunday
- Zone names
- GMT+9
- Time zone database
- Seoul
History
How the clocks in South Korea got here
- 1890
- To 1907.Local mean time, UTC+08:27, before the standard zone.
- 1908
- The move from local mean time, UTC+08:27, to UTC+08:30.
- 1909
- To 1911.UTC+08:30 all year.
- 1912
- To 1947.UTC+09:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1948
- To 1951.UTC+09:00 in winter, UTC+10:00 in summer time.
- 1952
- To 1953.UTC+09:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1954
- Clocks on UTC+08:30, UTC+09:00 at different times of the year.
- 1955
- To 1960.Clocks on UTC+08:30, UTC+09:30 at different times of the year.
- 1961
- Clocks on UTC+08:30, UTC+09:00 at different times of the year.
- 1962
- To 1986.UTC+09:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1987
- To 1988.UTC+09:00 in winter, UTC+10:00 in summer time.
- 1989
- To today.UTC+09:00 all year, no summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Asia/Seoul, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in South Korea
What time zone is South Korea in?
Korea Standard Time, abbreviated KST, nine hours ahead of UTC. It is the only zone in the country, from the islands of the Yellow Sea to Ulleung in the east and Jeju in the south, and the time zone database lists it as Asia/Seoul. North Korea keeps the same time, and Japan the same offset.
Does South Korea use daylight saving time?
No. The clocks stay on Korea Standard Time all year. Summer time was used from 1948 to 1951 and from 1955 to 1960, and last in 1987 and 1988, when the clocks went forward for the Seoul Olympics so that American television could broadcast events live.
Why did South Korea change its time zone in 1954 and 1961?
The offset of nine hours dated from 1912, when the Japanese Governor-General aligned Korea with Japan Standard Time. In 1954 Syngman Rhee's government went back to eight and a half hours ahead of Greenwich, the standard the Korean Empire had first adopted in 1908. Park Chung Hee's military government restored nine hours in 1961, setting the standard meridian at 135 degrees east, and it has not changed since.
Did North Korea ever keep a different time from the South?
Yes, from August 2015 to May 2018. North Korea moved to eight and a half hours ahead of UTC, calling it Pyongyang Standard Time, and the two Koreas were half an hour apart. It returned to the South's time in 2018 as a gesture towards Korean unity.
How did Korea keep time before standard time?
By water clock and sundial. In 1434 the inventor Chang Yŏngsil built an automatic water clock that King Sejong adopted as the country's standard timekeeper, and in 1437 Chang and Chŏng Ch'o made a bowl-shaped sundial, the angbu ilgu, which the king had set up in public places so that anyone could read the hour.