Asia · Eastern Asia · Sovereign state
Current time in South Korea
A single time zone at UTC+09:00.
Saturday, June 6, 2026
About South Korea's time
A single time zone.
South Korea uses a single timezone, Korean Standard Time (UTC+09:00), applied uniformly across the entire peninsula including Seoul and the surrounding regions. The country does not observe daylight saving time.
Major cities
Cities of South Korea.
History
How South Korea keeps time.
Korea's timezone history bears the deep imprint of colonial rule. During the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945, the Japanese Empire imposed Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00) on the Korean Peninsula, replacing the previous local mean time of UTC+08:28 based on the Seoul meridian. After liberation in 1945, Korea briefly reverted to its pre-colonial time, but this arrangement was short-lived.
In 1948, the newly established Republic of Korea formally adopted Korean Standard Time (KST) at UTC+09:00, which remains in effect today. This effectively retained the colonial-era offset, as 9 AM in Tokyo — aligned with Japanese time — was also deemed practical for modern commerce and administration. In 1954, South Korea briefly experimented with daylight saving time, only to abandon it in 1960. A second attempt was made from 1987 to 1988, when DST was briefly reintroduced to conserve energy during the Seoul Summer Olympics, but the practice was not continued afterward.
Did you know?
Things about South Korea's time.
Although South Korea has only one timezone, the division between North and South creates an interesting situation. Interestingly, North Korea introduced its own time zone, Pyongyang Standard Time (08:30) in 2015 as a symbolic assertion of independence, only to change it back to the South Korean timezone in 2018 as a gesture toward Korean reunification. Despite sharing the same UTC+09:00 offset, the Korean peninsula has technically experienced different time zones for 3 years between the two Koreas.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about South Korea's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Does South Korea use daylight saving time?
- No, South Korea does not observe daylight saving time and is on KST (UTC+09:00) all year round.
- Is South Korea ahead or behind Japan?
- Japan and South Korea are in the same UTC+09:00 time zone. They share the same time despite using different names (KST and JST).
- Can I use my South Korean phone clock when traveling to North Korea?
- Since 2018, both North and South Korea use UTC+09:00 again, so your clock will read the correct local time in Pyongyang as well as Seoul.
- What time does the workday start in Korean business culture?
- The standard business hours in South Korea from 9 AM to 6 PM KST, though many workers start earlier and leave later (sometimes as late as 10 PM), especially during intense project periods.
- Are there any regions in South Korea with a different timezone?
- No, the entire country uses a single timezone (UTC+09:00). Even offshore islands like Jeju Island follow KST.
- How does South Korea's time compare to China?
- South Korea is 1 hour ahead of China. Although geographically a country could reasonably use an earlier offset, both South Korea and Japan use UTC+09:00.
- Does the Korean timezone account for solar time?
- KST (UTC+09:00) roughly matches the solar time within the country, as Seoul is close to the reference longitude at 135°E. There is virtually no daylight misalignment from the offset.
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