Current Time in Seoul, South Korea
The time in Seoul right now, with its time zone, daylight saving dates and the difference from where you are.
Seoul keeps Korea Standard Time: KST, UTC+9, all year.
Convert a time in Seoul →Time in Seoul
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Korea Standard Time · KST, UTC+9, all year
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Seoul’s time zone
Seoul keeps Korea Standard Time (KST), UTC+9, all year round: its clocks do not change for summer. Phones and computers set Seoul’s clocks from the Asia/Seoul zone of the IANA tz database, and so does this page.
South Korea has kept Korea Standard Time, UTC+9, since 10 August 1961. It has changed more than its neighbours: UTC+8:30 from 1908, Tokyo time from 1912 under Japanese rule, UTC+9 after 1945, and UTC+8:30 again from 1954 until 1961, when it returned to UTC+9 by law. Summer time ran on and off from 1948 to 1960 and for the last time in 1987 and 1988, around the Seoul Olympics.
North Korea briefly took a separate path, moving to UTC+8:30 from 15 August 2015 until 4 May 2018, then back to match Seoul. Today Seoul and Tokyo always show the same clock. Seoul is an hour ahead of Beijing and Singapore, and with no clock changes it is 14 hours ahead of New York in winter and 13 in summer.
KST = UTC +9
- South Korea last observed daylight saving time in 1987 and 1988. Source: IANA tz database, file “asia”.
- North Korea used UTC+8:30 from 15 August 2015 to 4 May 2018. Source: IANA tz database, file “asia”.
Seoul time compared with other cities
How far ahead or behind each place is, on Wednesday 13 January 2027 and Wednesday 14 July 2027, and the time there when it is 9:00 am in Seoul in January.
| Place | In January | In July | At 9:00 am in Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | same time | same time | 9:00 am |
| China | 1 h behind | 1 h behind | 8:00 am |
| Singapore | 1 h behind | 1 h behind | 8:00 am |
| Sydney | 2 h ahead | 1 h ahead | 11:00 am |
| London | 9 h behind | 8 h behind | 12:00 am |
| New York | 14 h behind | 13 h behind | 7:00 pm (day before) |
| Los Angeles | 17 h behind | 16 h behind | 4:00 pm (day before) |
| India | 3 h 30 min behind | 3 h 30 min behind | 5:30 am |
| UTC | 9 h behind | 9 h behind | 12:00 am |
Frequently Asked Questions
What time zone is Seoul in?
Seoul is on Korea Standard Time (KST), UTC+9, all year. Its tz database zone is Asia/Seoul.
Does South Korea have daylight saving time?
No. South Korea last moved its clocks in 1988, the year of the Seoul Olympics, and has stayed on UTC+9 since.
Is North Korea on the same time as South Korea?
Yes, since May 2018. From 2015 to 2018 North Korea kept UTC+8:30, half an hour behind Seoul, before returning to UTC+9.
What is the time difference between Seoul and Los Angeles?
Seoul is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles in the US winter and 16 hours ahead from March to November, so a 9:00 am call in Seoul is 4:00 or 5:00 pm the day before in California.