Best Meeting Time: London to Seoul
🕐 Live Timezone Overlap: London & Seoul
London and Seoul sit 8 hours apart, with Seoul ahead. That gap leaves just 1 hour of shared working time each day: 9–10am in London, 5–6pm in Seoul. For teams trying to hold a regular slot, that single hour is the whole window. Missing it means someone works outside normal hours. Both cities run a 9am–6pm working day, so there is no hidden flexibility built into the standard schedule.
Time Difference: London and Seoul
Seoul is currently 8 hours ahead of London. The live offsets are London UTC+1 and Seoul UTC+9. London observes daylight saving and Seoul does not, so the offset shifts twice a year if both sides aren't already aligned.
London currently runs at UTC+1 during British Summer Time; its standard offset is UTC+0. Seoul stays fixed at UTC+9 year-round. South Korea does not observe DST. That means the gap between London and Seoul shifts with the UK clock changes. In winter, when London returns to UTC+0, the difference widens from 8 hours to 9 hours. Teams should update recurring invites each time the UK clocks change in spring and autumn.
Best Times to Meet
The overlap between London and Seoul is 1 hour: 9–10am London time, 5–6pm Seoul time. Inside that 1-hour window, the cleanest slot is typically 9:00–9:30am London, catching Seoul colleagues before they leave for the day. Note that Friday late-afternoon meetings are uncommon in Seoul, where Friday evening is often reserved for team social gatherings. London Fridays also wind down early. Avoid scheduling the overlap slot on Fridays if possible.
Working Hours Overlap Explained
London operates on Europe/London (currently UTC+1). Seoul operates on Asia/Seoul (currently UTC+9). The table below maps a standard 9:00 AM–6:00 PM day in London to Seoul's local time.
| London time | Seoul time | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | Seoul in business hours |
| 10:00 AM | 6:00 PM | Seoul wrapping up |
| 11:00 AM | 7:00 PM | Seoul outside hours |
| 12:00 PM | 8:00 PM | Seoul outside hours |
| 1:00 PM | 9:00 PM | Seoul outside hours |
| 2:00 PM | 10:00 PM | Seoul outside hours |
| 3:00 PM | 11:00 PM | Seoul outside hours |
| 4:00 PM | 12:00 AM | Seoul outside hours |
| 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM | Seoul outside hours |
| 6:00 PM | 2:00 AM | Seoul outside hours |
Tips for Scheduling Across London and Seoul
- Book the 9–9:30am London slot on Monday to Wednesday; Seoul colleagues are still at their desks.
- When UK clocks fall back in autumn, the London–Seoul gap widens to 9 hours, eliminating even the 1-hour overlap.
- Block Seoul's Chuseok and Seollal dates in your calendar early; each brings up to 4 consecutive days of closure.
- London Fridays often wind down by 4pm; Seoul Fridays are rarely used for formal meetings. Avoid Friday for this pair.
- If the 1-hour overlap cannot work, agree in advance which city takes the out-of-hours call and rotate the burden.
Public Holidays and Working Weeks
Both London and Seoul observe a 9am–6pm working day as the standard pattern, though many Seoul firms extend beyond that. Cross-city meetings should account for both holiday calendars. Seoul observes Seollal in January or February and Chuseok in September or October, each bringing 3–4 day national closures. London observes New Year's Day on 1 January and Christmas Day on 25 December, plus the May Bank Holiday on the first Monday in May.