Seoul in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Seoul sees average daytime highs around 4°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 68 mm of precipitation over about 12 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 4°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Seoul's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Seoul's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 4°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -5°C
- Precipitation
- 68 mm
- 12 wet days
- Avg wind
- 9 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.1
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Seoul in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 4°C.
A typical winter day in Seoul reaches about 4°C and drops to -5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Seoul
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.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Seoul 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2° / -7° | 20 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 5° / -5° | 25 | 4 | 1.8 | 10.6 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 11° / 0° | 38 | 6.2 | 1 | 11.7 | 2.9 |
| Apr | 18° / 6° | 70 | 7.3 | 0 | 12.9 | 6.0 |
| May | 23° / 12° | 96 | 7.7 | 0 | 14 | 7.2 |
| Jun | 27° / 18° | 126 | 8.8 | 0 | 14.5 | 6.6 |
| Jul | 28° / 22° | 314 | 16.5 | 0 | 14.3 | 4.8 |
| Aug | 29° / 22° | 258 | 15.2 | 0 | 13.4 | 4.8 |
| Sep | 26° / 17° | 124 | 7.6 | 0 | 12.3 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 20° / 9° | 55 | 5.3 | 0 | 11 | 7.1 |
| Nov | 12° / 2° | 47 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 10 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 4° / -5° | 23 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 9.5 | 0.1 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Seoul gets around 68 mm of rain and snow over 12 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 9 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.9 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Seoul
In winter, Seoul overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Seoul sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.
Seoul's rainy season runs July–August, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Seoul?
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.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Seoul.
What to pack for Seoul in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Seoul sees daytime highs around 4°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 12 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Seoul in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 6°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 38 km away) is warmest in August at about 24°C and coldest in February near 4°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 11 to Oct 13 — about 3.1 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 6 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Bracing |
| Feb | 4 | Bracing |
| Mar | 5 | Bracing |
| Apr | 8 | Bracing |
| May | 12 | Bracing |
| Jun | 17 | Cool |
| Jul | 21 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 24 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 23 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 20 | Cool |
| Nov | 15 | Bracing |
| Dec | 10 | Bracing |
UV index in Seoul in Winter
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 Seoul peaks around July 22 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 5 | High |
| Jun | 7 | High |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | High |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Air quality in Seoul in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Seoul is worst in March — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (August, 14 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Seoul's WHO annual average of 21 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 25 | 25 | 27 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 23 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | Moderate |
| Feb | 25 | Moderate |
| Mar | 27 | Moderate |
| Apr | 22 | Moderate |
| May | 19 | Moderate |
| Jun | 17 | Moderate |
| Jul | 15 | Moderate |
| Aug | 14 | Moderate |
| Sep | 19 | Moderate |
| Oct | 23 | Moderate |
| Nov | 24 | Moderate |
| Dec | 23 | Moderate |
Where is Seoul?
Seoul sits at 37.6°N, 127.0°E, 38 m above sea level, in South Korea. The nearest listed city is Gwangmyeong, 14 km away.
Topography around Seoul
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Seoul.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Seoul has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 302 m around an average of 71 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 777 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,443 m.
The land around Seoul is covered by artificial surfaces (69%) and trees (30%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (51%) and trees (40%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) within 80 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
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 Seoul (37.566°, 126.9784°, elevation 38 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.