By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Where
- Gwanghwamun Square (marathon start) and Jamsil Sports Complex (10K)
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- March
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
The 97th running, on Sunday 21 March 2027, from the organiser’s own information page; registration opened on 1 September 2026. The course map has not been published: the marathon is scheduled to gather at Gwanghwamun Square and the 10K at Jamsil Sports Complex, and both are marked as scheduled rather than final.
The Seoul Marathon runs on a Sunday morning in the second half of March, starting from Gwanghwamun Square in front of the main palace gate. It is the 97th running of the Dong-A Marathon, and the organiser describes it as Korea’s only race with World Athletics’ Platinum Label. What sets it apart for a visitor is how you get in. There is no ballot: the 10K takes anyone who registers, and the full marathon asks for an official certificate showing a finish under five hours in the last two years. Watching needs nothing but an early start.
What Seoul Marathon actually is
The race belongs to the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, which is why its other name is the Dong-A Marathon, and the edition number shows how long it has been going: this is the 97th. It is a mass race with an elite field at the front, run on closed city roads, and it is the one Korean marathon that World Athletics grades at Platinum, its top label for road races.
It also comes early in the season. Days in March average about 11°C and dawn sits close to freezing, which is good running weather and cold standing-around weather. If spring runs early, the first cherry blossom can open in the last days of the month.
Where to watch Seoul Marathon
- Gwanghwamun Square, for the start. The field gathers between the palace gate and the statue of King Sejong, and a mass start on a boulevard that wide is the most photogenic part of the morning. Arrive well before the gun, because the edges of the square fill with families.
- Along the course, once the map is out. The organiser has not yet published the route for this edition, so choose a spot from the official map when it appears rather than from a description of an earlier year. A point beside a subway station lets you see the leaders and then move on.
- Jamsil, for the 10K. The shorter race is scheduled to gather at Jamsil Sports Complex, south of the Han in the east of the city, which is where most visitors running it will spend their morning.
- Anywhere you can reach without a road. A race across a city this size closes streets for hours, and on race morning the subway is the only dependable way around it.
Tickets and what it costs
There are no spectator tickets and nothing to reserve. The planning is all on the running side.
The two distances work differently. The 10K takes anyone and asks for no previous result. The full marathon asks for an official certificate from the last two years with a finish of 4:59:59 or faster, submitted with your name and passport number, and the organiser warns that without one you may not be able to run it. Your time also sets your start group, from A for the fastest to H for those close to five hours.
Official information and booking: en.seoul-marathon.com/83
Getting there
Gwanghwamun Square sits above Gwanghwamun station on Line 5, and Gyeongbokgung station on Line 3 is a short walk to the north-west. Come by subway: the roads around the start close early and the square itself becomes the start area.
Jamsil Sports Complex is at Sports Complex station, on Lines 2 and 9.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Entering the full without a certificate
The qualifying rule is not a formality. Without an official result under five hours from the last two years, the organiser says you may not be allowed onto the marathon course, so check the paperwork before booking flights.
Dressing for the forecast high
Dawn in March hovers near freezing, and half an hour standing in a start pen is colder than any of the running. Bring a layer you are prepared to leave behind.
Staying near the wrong start
The marathon and the 10K gather on opposite sides of the city. Stay close to the start of the race you are running, because the early journey is the one with no slack in it.
Submitting an old or unofficial time
The certificate has to be an official record from the last two years, not a watch reading or an older result. Your time also decides your start group, from A at the front to H near five hours, so a stale slow result can place you well behind the pace you run now.
Trusting an old course map
This edition’s route has not been published. Write-ups of earlier years tell you the shape of the day, not which street to stand on.
Other Seoul events
Frequently asked questions
When is the Seoul Marathon?
On a Sunday morning in the second half of March. This edition’s date heads the page, and the organiser announces the next one when registration opens, which this time was at the start of the previous September.
Can anyone run the Seoul Marathon?
Anyone can run the 10K. The full marathon asks for an official finish of under five hours within the previous two years, submitted as a certificate, and the organiser says a place may not be possible without it.
What is a Platinum Label race?
It is the top grade World Athletics gives road races, awarded on the strength of the elite field and the standard of the organisation. The organiser describes Seoul as the only Korean race holding it.
How do overseas runners register?
Through the Dong-A Marathon Club website, whose registration page lets you choose the 10K or the marathon. Marathon entrants then upload their record certificate, with their name and passport number, in a separate record-submission tab. Registration for this edition opened at the start of September.
What is the weather like on race day?
Cool and usually dry. March afternoons average about 11°C, mornings start near freezing, and the month has about five wet days. Runners like it; spectators need a coat.
Does the marathon affect other visitors?
Near the course, for the morning. Roads close and buses divert, so use the subway, and expect the area around the start to be busy with runners and their families until the field has gone.
Sources
- Seoul Marathon, race information
- Seoul Marathon, overseas registration and qualifying records
- Seoul Marathon, Korea’s only Platinum Label
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.