By Harry Nara · Last updated
Choose Your Season
Broader overviews covering weather patterns, events, and highlights across an entire season.
Plan by Month
Each month at a glance — temperature, crowds, and one click to the full guide.
Events & Festivals
Dates, where to watch, and what each one actually costs.
Cold, Dry and Clear All Winter
January nights average -6°C, the coldest of all our destinations, and December and February both drop below freezing after dark. What makes it workable is that the cold comes dry, because the winter air arrives from the continent rather than off the sea: the sky is mostly blue, and rain or snow falls on only three or four days a month. Pack for it properly and this is a bright season, not a grey one.
Half the Year’s Rain Falls in Two Months
The monsoon, jangma, usually settles over the city in late June, and heavy downpours carry on through August, so July and August between them bring more than half of Seoul’s yearly rainfall. Humidity peaks at the same time, with highs close to 30°C. It does not rain every day, but this is the stretch of the year to build around museums, markets and long meals, with outdoor plans kept loose.
Four Mild Months, Split in Two
April and May, then September and October, sit between the extremes. Cherry blossom fills Yeouido and the banks of the Han in early April, the lantern parade for Buddha’s Birthday takes over the streets in May, and the leaves turn on Namsan as October ends. Most of what draws people outdoors in Seoul falls inside those four months.
Two Holidays Send the City Home
Seollal in January or February and Chuseok in September or early October follow the lunar calendar, so their dates move every year. For three days much of Seoul travels to family, the roads out of the city jam and many smaller restaurants close, while the palaces stay open to a quieter crowd. Check the dates before booking: they make for either the calmest or the most awkward days of a trip.
Our Seoul Guides
Each guide starts with what to wear, because that answer moves further between January and August here than anywhere else we cover, and then gets on to what that month or season is good for.