Korea’s time, time differences, and opening hours
Korea Standard Time (KST) is UTC+9, and Korea does not observe daylight saving time, so the offset stays the same year-round. The clock above shows the current time in Korea and the difference with major cities.
Time difference with major cities
- Tokyo, Japan: no difference (same zone)
- New York, USA: Korea is 13–14 hours ahead (varies with DST)
- London, UK: Korea is 8–9 hours ahead
- Sydney, Australia: Korea is 1–2 hours behind
- Dubai, UAE: Korea is 5 hours ahead
Beating jet lag
If you’re arriving from a very different time zone, keep your first day light—a gentle walk and an early night help reset your rhythm. Plenty of daytime sunlight speeds up adjustment.
Local opening hours
- Convenience stores: most open 24 hours
- Restaurants: typically lunch 11:00–15:00 and dinner 17:00–22:00, often with a break in between.
- Banks: weekdays 09:00–16:00, closed weekends
- Department stores & hypermarkets: usually 10:30–20:00; large marts close twice a month by law.
For city-by-city itineraries, see our travel guides.