The timezone KST in South Korea
Timezones are always computed by their difference to UTC, the "Universal Time Coordinated". In South Korea there is only a single tonezone at UTC+. For example, New York is currently at UTC-4 in Eastern Time, so the time difference between New York and South Korea is 4 hours.South Korea has no time difference between summer and winter. A daylight saving time doesn't exist.
Back to overview: South Korea
Current time in all regions of South Korea:
00:00
June 2023
Only 1 nationwide time zone
| Standard time: | UTC +9 | Korea Standard Time (KST) |
| Daylight saving time: | UTC +10 | discontinued 1988 |
South Korea has an east-west extension of 3.3 degrees of longitude. Given the country's location in East Asia, this corresponds to about 290 kilometers. With such a small extent the course of the sun at different positions in the country hardly matters. The position of the sun in the west of the country deviates from that in the east only about 13 minutes. This means the sun rises and sets 13 minutes later in the west than in the east.
The Korea Standard Time also applies in North Korea.
No more daylight saving time in South Korea
Due to the sun's orbit around the equator, the days are longer in summer (June to September in the northern hemisphere). Countries that switch to daylight saving time in the summer months align the daylight phase with the human rhythm. Unused bright morning hours are thus shifted into the evening (more information on daylight saving time here).Due to its distance from the equator, the impact would be significant in South Korea. Seoul is located 4,200 km from the equator. A day in midsummer would then not last from 05:09 to 19:58, but from 06:09 to 20:58. Nevertheless, in 1988 it was decided to finally abandon daylight saving time in South Korea.
Times for sunrise and sunset in South Korea
All Countries with DST
Public holidays in South Korea 2023-2027