Christmas and New Year's Week in Seoul 2026: What's Open, Where the Crowds Go, and How to Plan Each Day
Seoul · Year-end · 24 Dec – 1 Jan
The first surprise for most visitors is not the cold. It is walking into a restaurant on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. and being told, politely, that every table has been booked for weeks — by couples. In Seoul, Christmas is a date night, New Year’s Eve is a crowd, and New Year’s morning is the quietest the city ever gets.
🎄 25 Dec (Fri) and 1 Jan (Fri) are public holidays · 🏦 Check your bank’s 31 Dec hours · 🔔 Bosingak bell-ringing at midnight on 31 Dec
Short answer Between 24 December 2026 and 1 January 2027, Seoul is open, lit up and busy. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are public holidays falling on Fridays, so both create three-day weekends; banks and government offices close on those public holidays. For 31 December, check the branch’s opening hours and transaction cutoffs. The subway, most shops, restaurants and palaces run, but central districts are packed from mid-afternoon. Sightsee in the morning, book Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve dinners two to three weeks ahead, and if you are travelling with small children or elderly parents, skip the midnight crowd at Bosingak in favour of a quieter first sunrise.
We are a rental and luggage counter at Hongdae Station, and the year-end is one of our busiest weeks. These are the things we wish every family knew before landing.
01The calendar
Nine days, three kinds of day
The week is easier to plan once you see that there are only three types of day in it.
| Date | Day | What kind of day |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Dec | Thu | Normal working day — busy evening |
| 25 Dec | Fri | Public holiday — Christmas Day, start of a 3-day weekend |
| 26–27 Dec | Sat–Sun | Weekend — crowds continue |
| 28–30 Dec | Mon–Wed | Normal working days — the quiet window |
| 31 Dec | Thu | Working day — check bank hours and cutoffs — huge evening crowds in Jongno |
| 1 Jan | Fri | Public holiday — New Year’s Day, start of a 3-day weekend |
The quiet window is 28–30 December. If you want museums without queues, palace grounds without crowds, or a calm shopping day, put it there.
The two long weekends are the pressure points. Hotels, restaurants and anything with a driver book up around 25–27 December and 1–3 January.
02Christmas in Korea is different
A couples’ night, a family day out — and long queues for lights
If you are coming from a country where Christmas means staying home, Seoul will feel inside out.
- Christmas Eve is date night. Couples book set menus weeks ahead, and popular restaurants in Seongsu, Itaewon, Hannam and Gangnam are full from early evening. Families: book an early table or eat at a hotel or department-store food hall.
- Christmas Day is a day out. Families head to department stores, malls and light displays; churches hold services; the streets are busy from lunchtime.
- The decorations are the attraction. In recent years the biggest draws have been the giant façade show on Shinsegae’s main store in Myeongdong (free, evenings), the Christmas village at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido (free, but photo-spot reservations fill fast and queues are long), and the Christmas market at Lotte World Mall in Jamsil.
- Central Seoul runs a winter festival. The last edition, Seoul Winter Festa, ran from 12 December 2025 to 4 January 2026, with a market at Gwanghwamun Square, light installations, the Seoul Lantern Festival along Cheonggyecheon and the Seoul Plaza ice rink. The 2026–27 dates are usually announced in November or December.
The pattern that works with kids or grandparents: see the lights at opening time or after 9 p.m., not at 6 p.m. Seoul’s sunset around the solstice is at about 5:17 p.m., which means everyone else arrives for the lights at the same moment you do.
03What’s open, what’s closed
Holiday rules that change your day
Open as usual on 25 December and 1 January: the subway and buses, convenience stores, most cafés and restaurants (holiday hours vary), most department stores and malls, and the major palaces outside their normal weekly closing day.
Closed: banks and government offices on the 25 December and 1 January public holidays. For 31 December, check your branch and its year-end transaction cutoffs. ATM availability can vary during maintenance.
Check before you go: museums and smaller attractions. The National Museum of Korea, for example, closes on 1 January. Some independent shops and restaurants take the 1st off or open late.
Palaces: each one closes on a fixed weekday — Gyeongbokgung on Tuesdays; Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung on Mondays. In 2026–27 both holidays fall on Fridays, so expect them open, but confirm on the official site the week you go.
Money: arrange cash and transit-card credit before the public holidays. If you need a bank on 31 December, check branch hours and transaction cutoffs first; confirm airport or private exchange-counter opening hours separately.
📌 Banks close on the 25 Dec and 1 Jan public holidays; check 31 Dec branch hours · 💳 Check ATM maintenance notices · 🏛️ Palaces keep their weekly closing days
04New Year’s Eve
Bosingak at midnight — and the gentler alternatives
At midnight on 31 December, the great bell at Bosingak in Jongno is struck 33 times to ring in the new year. It is televised nationally and draws tens of thousands of people to a small area of downtown streets.
What recent years have looked like on the ground:
- Roads around Jongno and Cheonggyecheon closed from about 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
- Trains skipping Jonggak Station around midnight for crowd safety.
- Subway service extended to around 2 a.m., with the exact last trains varying by line and direction.
- Extra late buses toward depots.
The 2026 arrangements are announced by the Seoul city government in late December — check them before you go.
If your group includes a toddler, a stroller, an elderly parent or a wheelchair, we would not take them into the Bosingak crowd. It is not dangerous by design; it is simply very dense, very slow to leave, and there is nowhere to sit.
Better options for a family:
- Watch the bell on TV from a warm room, then go out on the 1st.
- Welcome the first sunrise instead. New Year’s sunrise in Seoul is around 7:47 a.m. Flat riverside spots such as Yeouido Hangang Park or Ttukseom need no climb, and are workable with wheels. Hill-top spots like Namsan or Achasan are beautiful but mean a steep walk in the dark.
- Have a late dinner near your hotel and skip the cross-town journey home.
05A day-by-day plan
How to run the week with kids or parents
-
24 Dec (Thu) — sightsee by day, dine early
It is a normal weekday until about 4 p.m. Do a palace or museum in the morning, and book dinner for 5–6 p.m. — or eat at a department-store food hall.
-
25 Dec (Fri) — mornings for crowds, afternoons for rest
Christmas Day starts slow. Go to the lights or the markets before noon; spend the afternoon somewhere indoor and seated. Expect Myeongdong, Yeouido and Jamsil to be packed from lunchtime.
-
26–27 Dec (Sat–Sun) — neighbourhoods, not landmarks
Weekend crowds continue in the big districts. A slower half-day in a neighbourhood works better — see 18 neighbourhoods reachable from Hongdae Exit 3.
-
28–30 Dec (Mon–Wed) — the quiet window
Museums, palace grounds and shopping. This is also the best time to change hotels if your stay spans both weekends.
-
31 Dec (Thu) — errands early, evening close to base
If you need banking or currency exchange, check the branch or counter’s hours and year-end cutoffs before setting out. In the evening, stay away from Jongno unless you have chosen the crowd on purpose.
-
1 Jan (Fri) — sunrise, then a slow day
The city sleeps in. Early risers get the first sunrise; everyone else gets the emptiest streets of the year until about 11 a.m.
06Luggage, gear and the long weekends
The logistics that break year-end trips
Changing accommodation over a holiday weekend. Checkout at 11, check-in at 3, and every locker at the station already taken. Leave the bags at our counter, or have them collected from one hotel and delivered to the next — luggage pickup, storage and delivery in Seoul.
Going out on New Year’s Eve. Bring nothing you would not want to hold for three hours in a crowd. Shopping bags and spare layers can wait at the counter connected to Hongdae Station Exit 3.
Strollers and wheelchairs in winter crowds. A compact stroller you can fold one-handed beats a full-size one on a packed platform; a rollator with a seat gives a parent a place to sit when every bench is taken. See Seoul mobility rental.
Christmas photos. The Instax Mini EVO shoots digitally and prints a card-sized photo on the spot, so everyone in the group goes home with one from the lights — ₩11,000/day, film sold separately.
Book anything involving a vehicle two to three weeks ahead. Airport transfers, luggage pickup and delivery, and private car charters are the first things to fill over the year-end. Our regular hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00–17:00; on 25 December and 1 January, rental pickup, returns, storage and delivery are by advance arrangement only.
🗓️ Book dinners, hotels and transfers 2–3 weeks ahead · 🧳 Holiday-day service by arrangement · 📩 @kplanz.official
Frequently asked questions
Is Christmas a public holiday in South Korea?
Yes. 25 December is a public holiday; in 2026 it is a Friday, making 25–27 December a three-day weekend. Most shops, restaurants and the subway run; banks and government offices close.
What is Christmas like in Seoul?
More a night out than a family day — Christmas Eve is a couples’ date night and restaurants book out. Department stores, malls and a central winter festival put on lights and markets, and the main districts are crowded from late afternoon.
What is open in Seoul on New Year’s Day?
The subway, convenience stores and most restaurants. Banks and government offices close, and some attractions close or open late — the National Museum of Korea is closed on 1 January.
Are banks open in Korea on 31 December?
31 December 2026 is a Thursday and is not a national public holiday. Do not assume all banks are closed: check your chosen branch’s opening hours, year-end transaction cutoffs and any maintenance notices. Banks normally close on the 25 December and 1 January public holidays. Arrange cash and currency exchange in advance of those holidays.
Should I go to the Bosingak bell-ringing?
Only if you are comfortable in a very dense crowd. With small children, elderly parents, a stroller or a wheelchair, watch it on TV or see the first sunrise from a flat riverside park instead.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, for holiday dinners, accommodation over the two long weekends, and anything with a vehicle — two to three weeks ahead.
Is KPLANZ open on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day?
Regular hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00–17:00. On public holidays, pickup, return, storage and delivery are by advance arrangement only.
Related reading
- Seoul after dark: between dinner and the first train
- Do you need a K-ETA for Korea in 2027?
- Luggage pickup, storage and delivery in Seoul
The best year-end trips to Seoul are the ones that go with the city’s rhythm rather than against it: mornings for the sights, early tables for dinner, and one quiet sunrise that nobody in the group will forget.
Pack Less, Care More.