South Korea in December

South Korea in December is cold and dry, so go if you are fine with that. Seoul averages 0.2°C, and Busan and Jeju are milder. Seoul lists its Gwanghwamun light show from 11 December 2026, but the other events and the ski openings have no 2026 dates yet, so do not fix your trip around them. The Seoul average is from the Korea Meteorological Administration's 1991 to 2020 normals, read on 11 October 2026. We read the event pages on 13 October 2026.

The weather

Note: Korea Meteorological Administration 1991 to 2020 normals for December: Seoul 0.2°C on average (-3.4 to 4.2°C) and about 23 mm of rain. Busan 5.8°C (2.0 to 10.4°C). Jeju 8.3°C (5.6 to 11.0°C). These are the figures on our winter page, from data.kma.go.kr, read 11 Oct 2026

Seoul is below freezing on an average night and near freezing on an average day. Busan is about 6 degrees warmer and Jeju about 8. These are 30 year averages, so a single day can be colder or warmer.

Our best-time page also says fine dust returns in December and January. The AirKorea app shows the index, and KF94 masks are sold at any convenience store.

What to pack

A warm coat, a hat and gloves for Seoul. Wear layers, because malls and the subway are heated. Shoes with grip help on cold, wet pavement. In Busan and Jeju a coat is still needed, but you will not need the hat and gloves on most days. Pack the same for the ski trips below, plus the gear you rent there.

What Seoul lists for the light shows

Seoul's city site gives dates for one December light show in 2026. The other events from last season have no 2026 dates yet.

Hours: Seoul Light Gwanghwamun: 11 Dec 2026 to 3 Jan 2027, at Sejong-daero in Jongno-gu. The listing gives no hours and no price (Seoul city culture site culture.seoul.go.kr, read 13 Oct 2026)

Hours: Last season, for comparison: Seoul Light Gwanghwamun ran 12 Dec 2025 to 4 Jan 2026, Sunday to Thursday 17:30 to 21:30, Friday and Saturday 17:30 to 22:00, and 31 Dec 17:30 to 00:30. The Christmas Gwanghwamun Market ran 12 to 31 Dec 2025, 17:30 to 21:30, and until midnight on 31 Dec. The Cheonggyecheon lantern festival opened on 12 Dec 2025 with hours of 18:00 to 22:00 (Seoul city media hub, published 17 Dec 2025, opened 13 Oct 2026)

Note: The lantern festival later ran to 23:00 and was extended to 18 Jan 2026, says the city's update of 5 January 2026 that our winter page uses. So last season's hours changed during the run

We found no 2026 dates for the lantern festival, the Christmas market or the Seoul Plaza ice rink. Last season's rink dates, hours and ticket price are in the Christmas section below. Wait for the city's notices before you build a trip around them.

We also found no official page for the Myeongdong department store lights, so we state no dates for them.

Christmas and New Year's Eve in Seoul

The one night to plan carefully is 31 December. The city closes roads, moves the last train and shuts a station, and the people who get home easily are the ones who read the notice first. This section uses Seoul's own pages for the 2025 ceremony. The 2026 notice is not out yet.

The Bosingak bell: what happened in 2025

The 2025 ceremony: The city's page gives 22:50 on 31 December 2025 to 00:20 on 1 January 2026 around Bosingak, with 33 strikes of the bell. A city press article dated 30 December 2025 says 23:00 for the start, so the start time differs by ten minutes between two city pages (Seoul city bell page and Seoul media hub, opened 11 October 2026)

2026: We found no announcement for the 31 December 2026 ceremony on 11 October 2026. In 2025 the city's press article came out on 30 December. Do not plan around the 2025 times, and do not trust a blog that gives 2026 times before the city does

The bell is at Bosingak in Jongno. In 2025 the closures covered the main roads around it, so plan to arrive on foot.

Roads, trains and buses in 2025

Roads: Closed from 18:00 on 31 December 2025 to 07:00 on 1 January 2026: Jongno between Sejong-daero and Jongno 2-ga, Cheonggye-buk-ro from Cheonggye Plaza to Cheonggye 2-ga, and Ujeongguk-ro from the Gongpyeong rotary to the Gwanggyo crossing (Seoul city bell page, opened 11 October 2026)

Last trains: The city moved the last train from the usual 01:00 to 02:00 on 31 December 2025, with 104 extra trains. It covered Lines 1 to 9, Ui-Sinseol and Sillim. Trains toward Gyeonggi and Incheon can end earlier, and the city told people to check each station's timetable (Seoul city bell page and Seoul media hub, opened 11 October 2026)

Jonggak Station: Trains did not stop at Jonggak Station from 23:00 on 31 December to 01:00 on 1 January 2026 because of the crowd (Seoul city bell page, opened 11 October 2026)

Buses: 45 city bus routes that pass the venue ran their last bus through the area at 02:00. Another 47 routes were diverted from 18:00 to 07:00, so a bus you use every day may not stop where you expect (Seoul media hub, 30 December 2025, opened 11 October 2026). The city page lists the routes, so check yours there

The media hub article also lists last-train times at nine stations. Jongno 3-ga on Line 1 had last trains at about 01:50 and 01:51, one for each direction. We could not tell from the page which time goes with which direction, so check the station's own board.

If your hotel is in Myeongdong and you are at Seoul Station, Myeongdong is two stops away on Line 4, via Hoehyeon. We did not check whether Line 4 had a late extension on 31 December.

The Seoul Plaza rink and the lanterns, last season

Seoul Plaza ice rink: Last season it ran 19 December 2025 to 8 February 2026. The city's page said the first sessions on 24 December and 31 December had extended hours, to 12:30 at night, which we read as 00:30. The ticket was ₩1,000 for one hour with skates and a helmet. Sunday to Friday it opened 10:00 to 21:30, and Saturday and holidays 10:00 to 23:00. Half the slots were sold online, from seven days ahead, and half on the day. It is at 2 Eulji-ro, 186 metres from Exit 6 of City Hall Station (Seoul media hub, 23 December 2025, opened 11 October 2026)

Cheonggyecheon lanterns: The 2025-26 festival ran 12 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 along the Cheonggyecheon stream and the Uicheon stream, 18:00 to 23:00. The Uicheon part ended 4 January. The city's article does not say whether entry was free (Seoul media hub, updated 5 January 2026, opened 11 October 2026)

The city has not published 2026-27 dates for either one. Check the city's notices when they post them.

Christmas Day

Christmas is on Korea's public holiday list. It appears on the 2027 list from the Korea AeroSpace Administration, and we did not open the 2026 list. Expect closures, and book dinner early. We have not confirmed any department store light show or Christmas market dates for 2026.

What is open and what is closed

Note: Seoul palaces: Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo are closed on Tuesdays. Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and the royal tombs are closed on Mondays (our Seoul palaces page, from the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center). Christmas Day is on Korea's public holiday list (Korea AeroSpace Administration list for 2027, opened 11 Oct 2026)

We did not find an official list of what closes on 25 December or 1 January. Many sights and shops keep different hours on holidays, so check each place before you go. Our palaces page has the ticket rules.

Ski season

Hours: 2025-26 openings, the latest we found: Phoenix Park and Mona Yongpyong opened on Fri 21 Nov 2025. High1 planned 28 Nov. Elysian Gangchon had started snowmaking for an early December opening (Korea JoongAng Daily, 21 Nov 2025, read 13 Oct 2026)

That report is a newspaper, not a resort page. We found no 2026-27 opening dates, so use last year's dates only as a guide. Resorts open when the snow-making allows, and they post their own dates close to the day. Our best-time page puts the Gangwon ski season from December to early March, 1.5 to 2 hours east of Seoul.

Crowds and prices

Our best-time page says flights and hotels are cheapest on December weekdays, outside Christmas week and the Seollal holiday. Seollal 2027 is on 7 February, so it is not in December. We did not check any December 2026 price for a flight or a room, so treat the page's claim as a pattern, not a quote.

Weekend evenings at the light shows are the busiest part of the month. Go on a weeknight if you can.

January and February: the rest of winter

If your trip runs past December, two things change. It gets colder, and the Seollal holiday falls in February.

The winter numbers to plan around:

• January in Seoul: about -6 to 2°C, from our best-time page. These are long-run averages, and we did not re-check them against the weather agency's table.

• February in Seoul: about -4 to 4°C, from the same page.

• Seollal 2027: Sunday 7 February. The holiday period is 6 to 9 February and includes a substitute holiday (Korea AeroSpace Administration announcement of 29 June 2026, opened 11 Oct 2026).

• Last season, the Seoul Plaza ice rink ran to 8 February 2026 and the Cheonggyecheon lanterns to 18 January 2026. No 2026-27 dates were out when we checked.

Many shops and restaurants close for the main days of Seollal, and the whole country travels. Our best-time page says trains sell out weeks ahead. We have not checked Korail's sale dates for this holiday. We also did not write about ice-fishing festivals, because we found no official 2026-27 dates for them. So, for January, pack for colder days than December, and for February, plan around 6 to 9 February.

Who December suits

It suits people who want clear, cold days, evening lights and cheaper weekdays. It does not suit people who want warm weather or autumn colour. For colour, read our November page.

What is checked here and what is not

Sources: the Korea Meteorological Administration, the Korea AeroSpace Administration and Seoul's city media hub.

Checked on 11 October 2026: the KMA December normals for Seoul, the Seollal 2027 dates from the Korea AeroSpace Administration's announcement, the 2025 bell ceremony time, road closures, last-train extension, Jonggak Station closure and bus changes, from the city's bell page and a city press article, and the Seoul Plaza rink and lantern festival dates for 2025-26, from the city's media hub.

Checked on 13 October 2026: the Seoul Light Gwanghwamun dates on Seoul's culture site, the 2025-26 event dates and hours on Seoul's city media hub, and the 2025-26 ski openings in the Korea JoongAng Daily. The closing days are from our palaces page. The January and February averages are from our best-time page and were not re-checked.

Not checked: January and February KMA normals, ice-fishing festival dates, Korail's Seollal sale dates, Busan and Jeju December rainfall, snowfall, any 2026 date for the lantern festival, Christmas market, Seoul Plaza rink or the Myeongdong lights, 2026-27 ski opening dates, December prices, what closes on 25 December and 1 January, the 2026 Bosingak plan, trains, roads or buses, the taxi situation on 31 December, and the Line 4 and other late-night extensions. We did not use forum posts.