Gongju in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Gongju sees average daytime highs around 5°C and overnight lows near -4°C, with 76 mm of precipitation over about 13 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 5°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Gongju's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Gongju's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
5°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-4°C
Precipitation
76 mm
13 wet days
Avg wind
9 km/h
Travel score
0.3
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Gongju in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 5°C.

A typical winter day in Gongju reaches about 5°C and drops to -4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

-10°-5°10°15°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Gongju

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Gongju weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -5°224.22.59.80.0
Feb / -3°304.31.610.60.6
Mar12° / 476.41.211.73.4
Apr18° / 797.30.112.96.3
May24° / 12°847.4013.97.3
Jun28° / 18°1268.7014.46.4
Jul29° / 22°26516.1014.24.5
Aug30° / 22°24215.2013.44.5
Sep26° / 17°1478.6012.26.9
Oct20° / 10°595011.17.3
Nov13° / 456.10.210.13.9
Dec / -3°244.61.99.60.4

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Gongju gets around 76 mm of rain and snow over 13 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.8 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Gongju

In seasonPeak

In winter, Gongju overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Gongju sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Gongju's rainy season runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Gongju?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.3
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Gongju.

What to pack for Gongju in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Gongju sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near -4°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

Sea temperature near Gongju in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 8°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 58 km away) is warmest in August at about 26°C and coldest in February near 5°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 26 to Oct 10 — about 3.5 months when the water holds above 20°C.

0°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb5Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May14Bracing
Jun19Cool
Jul23Refreshing
Aug26Warm
Sep23Refreshing
Oct19Cool
Nov15Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Gongju in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gongju peaks around August 14 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateAug 14UV 8Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Gongju in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Gongju is worst in March — around 92 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.0× the cleanest month (July, 46 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0306090120JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyMar 1391 µg/m³Jul 2246 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan83Unhealthy
Feb85Unhealthy
Mar92Unhealthy
Apr75Unhealthy
May62Unhealthy
Jun57Unhealthy
Jul46Poor
Aug47Poor
Sep61Unhealthy
Oct74Unhealthy
Nov79Unhealthy
Dec73Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Gongju?

Gongju sits at 36.5°N, 127.1°E, 23 m above sea level, in South Korea. The nearest listed city is Sejong, 21 km away.

YesanYŏnmuAsanCheongju-si

Topography around Gongju

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Gongju.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gongju has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 303 m around an average of 66 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 820 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,213 m.

The land around Gongju is covered by trees (53%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, trees (68%) within 16 km, and trees (55%) and cropland (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
303 m
16 km
820 m
80 km
1,213 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Sejong 21 km · Daejeon 26 km · Buyeo 28 km · Nonsan 28 km · Yesan 35 km · Yŏnmu 36 km · Asan 38 km · Cheongju-si 38 km

South Korea travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
220 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 57% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$36,227
2025
Happiness
6.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.5
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
8.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 522
Religion
none 60%Protestant 17%Buddhist 16%Catholic 6%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Gongju (36.4556°, 127.1247°, elevation 23 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.