At a Glance
Compared to this destination's peak season Quiet for most of the season, with two exceptions: the centre is busy from Christmas to New Year, and over Seollal the city empties while trains and buses out of it sell out.
Seoul in Winter — Travel Guide
By Harry Nara · Last updated
Seoul in Winter offers some of the best conditions of the year, ideal for street food, spa & museums. Expect temperatures of -4–4°C, around 3–4 days of rain, and low crowds across the city. Daily budgets typically land around ₩75,000–130,000 for mid-range travellers. Rooms are easy to find last-minute and hotel prices stay noticeably softer through the season.
Contents13 sections
#At a Glance
Seoul in winter is cold, dry and bright, and the city is built to be warm indoors. January nights average -6°C, the lowest of any destination we cover, and three months average below freezing after dark. What makes it more comfortable than the numbers suggest is that the cold arrives dry: three or four wet days a month, mostly blue skies, and snow that falls lightly and rarely lasts. Indoors, the heating is serious. Homes and many restaurants are heated from the floor, the bathhouses run all night, and the street carts sell food made to be eaten hot with gloves on. Rooms are usually at their cheapest now, with two exceptions: the run from Christmas into the New Year, when the bell at Bosingak is rung at midnight, and Seollal, the Lunar New Year, which in 2027 falls on 6–9 February and sends much of the city home to family.
#Weather in Seoul in Winter
Seoul in Winter averages -4–4°C (25–39°F) with around 3–4 days of rain, and crowds are low.
December runs about -3 to 4°C with four wet days. January is the coldest month at -6 to 2°C with three wet days, and February -3 to 5°C with three. The three months together bring only about 68 mm of rain and snow.
The cold comes from the continent. Dry winds from Siberia bring the clear skies and the sharp cold, and the pattern often runs in cycles of a few very cold days followed by milder ones. Wind chill makes the cold days feel several degrees lower, especially by the Han.
Snow is light. Seoul sees a few falls each winter, often only a few centimetres, and the city clears the main roads quickly. A snowy morning at a palace is something to catch if you can, because it may be gone by the afternoon.
#What to Do in Seoul in Winter
Solo Travellers
Walk Gyeongbokgung on a clear winter morning when the palace opens at 9:00. The mountains behind are sharp in the dry air, the crowds are thin, and if it has snowed the courtyards are white. The palace closes earlier in winter, at 17:00, with last entry at 16:00.
Spend an evening at a jjimjilbang. They are cheap, open late or all night, and give you hot pools, saunas, a heated floor to lie on and a bowl of noodles. For a solo traveller in winter, it is the warmest place in the city.
Couples
Seoul's winter lights are at their best in December. The Cheonggyecheon usually hosts a lantern festival from mid-December, the streets around Gwanghwamun and Seoul Plaza are lit up, and the city's winter festival brings markets and a skating rink to the centre. Check the dates for the year, because the programme changes.
For a view with the cold kept outside, go up Lotte World Tower's observation deck on a clear evening; winter air gives the longest views of the year.
Families
Seoul Plaza's outdoor ice rink, in front of City Hall, usually opens in December and is cheap and central. Lotte World's indoor park and ice rink in Jamsil are good for a day out of the cold.
Several ski resorts are within reach of Seoul by bus, some within a couple of hours, and many run shuttle buses from central Seoul in winter.
Tours to the Demilitarised Zone run through the year, and the clear winter air gives the longest views north from the observatories. They go only through licensed operators, need a passport, and are suspended at short notice when tensions on the border rise, so keep the day flexible.
Groups
Seollal is a good time to see Seoul's traditional side. The palaces and folk museums run events over the holiday, including traditional games, and in recent years the palaces have opened free for it.
On New Year's Eve, the bell at Bosingak in Jongno is rung 33 times at midnight, and the crowd around it stretches down Jongno. Arrive early and dress for standing still in the cold for a long time.
The mountains stay open all winter, and Koreans keep hiking them. On icy trails they wear light chain crampons over their boots, sold cheaply in the outdoor shops clustered at every trailhead. Inwangsan and Namsan are short enough for a winter afternoon; Bukhansan in snow is for experienced hikers only.
#Getting Around
Winter is when the underground city earns its keep. Many subway stations connect directly into malls and office towers, so a long transfer or a shopping afternoon can be done without going outside.
Fares do not change with the season. What winter adds is warmth while you wait: many bus stops now have heated benches, and some have enclosed shelters with heaters.
Taxis are hard to find late at night in winter, especially after the last trains, when the queues at the taxi stands in Gangnam and Hongdae get long. A ride-hailing app helps. Pavements can be icy in shaded streets after snow.
Over Seollal, the subway runs as usual inside the city, but trains and buses out of Seoul sell out well in advance.
#Budget & Costs
Winter is Seoul's cheapest season for rooms, except for the Christmas to New Year period and Seollal.
Seoul has no nightly tourist tax. The costs that grow in winter are small ones: heat packs, taxis on cold nights, and a lot of hot drinks.
Winter prices, roughly:
- Mid-range hotel ₩110,000–190,000 a night; hostel dorm ₩20,000–40,000
- Jjimjilbang entry ₩10,000–20,000, often including overnight stays
- Hotteok or bungeoppang ₩1,000–3,000
- Subway ₩1,550 on a card; taxi flagfall ₩4,800
₩75,000–130,000 a day, not counting the room, covers most winter trips.
#Food & Dining
Winter food in Seoul is hot, rich and often eaten outside. The street carts sell hotteok, a pancake filled with brown sugar and nuts, and bungeoppang, fish-shaped pastry filled with red bean. Eomuk, fish cake on a skewer in hot broth, comes with a paper cup of the broth to drink.
Inside, this is the season for stews. Budae jjigae, the army stew with ham, sausage and noodles, and kimchi jjigae are winter comfort food, and the barbecue restaurants are warm and busy.
On Seollal morning, families eat tteokguk, a soup of sliced rice cakes, and by tradition everyone is a year older after it. Many family-run restaurants close for the holiday, but chains, convenience stores and hotel restaurants stay open.
#Nightlife
Seoul's nightlife moves indoors in winter but does not slow down much. The bars in Euljiro, Itaewon and Hongdae are warm and full, and the karaoke rooms, noraebang, are open until late.
The pojangmacha tents on the pavements put up plastic sheeting and heaters, and a plate of stir-fried rice cakes with a bottle of soju in one of them is a classic winter night out. December is party season for Korean companies, so bars are busy on weeknights.
#Shopping
Winter sales run through January in the department stores. Myeongdong's cosmetics shops sell winter skincare for the dry air. The underground shopping streets are warm places to browse.
For Seollal, gift sets fill the department stores and supermarkets, from fruit to spam to ginseng.
#Culture & Etiquette
Shoes off indoors, where the floor is heated: in homes, in some restaurants and in temples. Socks without holes are worth packing.
At Seollal, younger family members bow to their elders and receive money in envelopes. You will not be part of that, but greetings of a happy new year are appreciated in the days around the holiday.
In a jjimjilbang, wash thoroughly before entering the pools, and bathe without a swimsuit in the single-sex bathing areas. The shared areas, where men and women mix, require the clothes provided.
#Essential Local Phrases
English is common in central Seoul. Winter adds a few useful words.
| Korean | Meaning | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) | Hello | Everywhere |
| 추워요 (chuwoyo) | It's cold | Small talk all winter |
| 새해 복 많이 받으세요 (saehae bok mani badeuseyo) | Happy New Year | Around 1 January and around Seollal |
| 핫팩 (hatpaek) | Heat pack | Sold at every convenience store |
| 하나 주세요 (hana juseyo) | One, please | At the street carts |
| 영수증 주세요 (yeongsujeung juseyo) | Receipt, please | For tax refunds |
#Packing List
- A proper insulated coat that covers the hips
- Thermal base layers
- A hat, scarf and gloves
- Warm, waterproof boots with soles that hold on ice
- Moisturiser and lip balm for the dry air
- Heat packs, though every convenience store sells them
- Socks in good condition for heated floors
- Your passport for tax refunds
#Backup Plans (Rainy Days)
Bad weather in winter usually means cold, not rain. The answer is the same as always in Seoul: go indoors.
The National Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Contemporary Art and the Leeum can each fill a morning. COEX and the Starfield Library, the underground malls and a long afternoon in a jjimjilbang are the warmest ways to spend a very cold day.
#Safety & Health
The cold is the main risk, and it is manageable with the right clothes. Watch for ice on shaded pavements and stairs after snow.
Winter is also a season when air quality can drop, especially in late winter as it moves toward spring. Check the fine-dust forecast before a long day outside.
112 reaches the police and 119 an ambulance, and the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline answers in English at any time. Pharmacies, called yakguk, handle colds and minor ailments; many close on Sundays and over Seollal, and convenience stores sell basic remedies.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How cold is Seoul in winter?
Cold: January averages -6°C at night and 2°C by day, and three months average below freezing after dark. The wind by the river makes it feel colder. It is also dry and mostly sunny, with only three or four wet days a month, so a proper coat, gloves and a hat make most days comfortable.
Does it snow in Seoul?
A few times each winter, usually lightly. Snow rarely lasts more than a day or two in the city, so a snowy palace courtyard is something to catch when it happens. For reliable snow, the ski resorts east of Seoul are a bus ride away.
What is open in Seoul over Seollal?
In 2027 the Lunar New Year holiday runs 6–9 February. Many family-run restaurants and small shops close for the main days and transport out of the city sells out, but the subway runs as normal, chains and convenience stores stay open, and the palaces hold holiday events and have opened free in recent years.
How much does a winter trip to Seoul cost?
Rooms are usually at their cheapest, apart from Christmas to New Year and Seollal. Outside the room, ₩75,000–130,000 a day is enough, and a night in a jjimjilbang costs a fraction of a hotel. There is no city tourist tax.