Christmas and New Year's Eve 2026 in Korea: Free Seoul Lights, the Bosingak Bell, ₩218,000 Hotel Buffets, Late Trains, Night Taxi Fares, Busan Sunrise

Christmas and New Year's Eve in Seoul can cost almost nothing or several hundred thousand won, and the difference is nearly all food. The media façades, Christmas markets and the midnight bell at 보신각 (Bosingak) are free. The expensive parts are a hotel Christmas buffet (about ₩218,000 per adult at peak in 2025) and a taxi after midnight, when fares carry a 40% surcharge. Christmas Day (Friday, Dec 25, 2026) and New Year's Day (Friday, Jan 1, 2027) are both confirmed public holidays. The details of the bell night are expected to follow last year's pattern and are announced in late December.

What Christmas and New Year's Eve cost in Seoul

• Transport (round trip)
• Tickets & entry
• Lodging (per person)
• Food & drink

BudgetMarkets, media façade, Bosingak bell — all free

₩31,200

ComfortHotel Christmas buffet, taxi after midnight

₩258k

₩278,800

Show as table

Scenario	Transport (round trip)	Tickets & entry	Lodging (per person)	Food & drink	Total
Budget	₩6,200	₩0	₩0	₩25,000	₩31,200
Comfort	₩20,800	₩0	₩0	₩258,000	₩278,800

Per person	Budget	Comfort
Transport (all trips)	₩6,200	₩20,800
Tickets & entry	₩0	₩0
Lodging	₩0	₩0
Food & drink	₩25,000	₩258,000
Total	₩31,200	₩278,800

Assumptions: one person already staying in Seoul, so lodging sits in your main trip budget and shows as ₩0. The table covers one Christmas evening out and one New Year's Eve at Bosingak, and food is an estimate. Budget is four subway rides at ₩1,550 (you get home on New Year's Eve on the extended subway) plus a hot wine and snacks. Comfort is three subway rides, one 10 km taxi after midnight, a peak-season hotel buffet (about ₩218,000, as of November 2025) and about ₩40,000 of drinks and snacks.

What drives the gap: the buffet alone is almost 80% of the Comfort total. Nothing on either night needs a ticket. The second-largest cost is getting home: a taxi between 23:00 and 02:00 costs about 1.4 times the daytime fare, and around Jongno the roads are closed anyway. Swap the buffet for a normal restaurant dinner (see what eating out costs in 2026) and take the late subway, and the Comfort night ends up much closer to the Budget column than to the ₩278,800 total.

Christmas Day 2026: what's open and what's free

December 25 is a Friday and a public holiday, so the whole of Seoul gets a three-day weekend. As on other single holidays, banks, post offices and government offices close. Department stores, malls, restaurants, cafés and convenience stores mostly open. Subways and buses run on the holiday timetable, and palaces open as normal (경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung) closes only on Tuesdays). Restaurants are booked out on Christmas Eve (a working Thursday) and on Christmas night, so reserve anything sit-down. The full list is in the public holidays guide. Christmas night gets no late-train extension (none has been announced), so check your line's last train on Seoul Metro's timetable. Most lines finish somewhere between midnight and 01:00.

The free things worth your evening:

Sight	Where / nearest station	Hours (last season)	2026 status
Shinsegae media façade	Shinsegae main store, 명동 (Myeong-dong); 회현 (Hoehyeon) station, line 4, exit 7 (check on arrival)	17:00–24:00 daily	Usually switched on early to mid November; end date varies (Dec 31 or late Jan)
Seoul Light Gwanghwamun	광화문 (Gwanghwamun) Square; Gwanghwamun station, line 5	17:30–22:00 (2026 listing)	Confirmed: Dec 11, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027
Gwanghwamun Christmas market	Gwanghwamun Square	17:30–21:30 weekdays, to 22:00 weekends and holidays; later on Dec 31	Expected mid-December to Dec 31 (2025: Dec 12–31)
DDP Christmas market	Dongdaemun Design Plaza	Evenings (check)	Reportedly about 50 stalls; dates not yet announced
Seoul Plaza ice rink	Seoul Plaza, City Hall station	10:00–21:30 (to 23:00 Sat and holidays)	₩1,000 per hour incl. skates; 2026 dates not yet announced

The Shinsegae façade is the one people photograph. The whole front of the department store becomes a moving Christmas screen, and the crowd across the road is heaviest on Christmas Day and on weekends, so go on a weekday evening. The Gwanghwamun market drew about 3.57 million visitors in 2025, over a million of them in Christmas week alone. Stalls sell food and gifts, with hot wine at about ₩8,000 a cup (reported, not a posted price), and several reviewers found the food prices on the high side. The lantern festival along the stream is covered separately in the Seoul Winter Festa and Lantern Festival guide.

Hotel Christmas buffets: ₩218,000, and how to pay less

In a Seoul Shinmun survey of four luxury hotel buffets (the Shilla's Parkview, Lotte's La Seine, the Westin Josun's Aria and Josun Palace's Constans), a peak year-end weekend meal cost about ₩218,000 per adult in 2025. It was about ₩183,000 in 2022. One limited-edition Christmas cake cost ₩500,000, three made a day. 2026 prices are not out yet. Hotels usually publish them in November, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day tables go first.

Ways to pay less:

• Go outside the peak weeks. The same survey put an off-peak weekend dinner at about ₩192,000. That is still a splurge, but it saves about ₩26,000 a head.
• Pick lunch over dinner, or a weekday over the weekend, where the hotel prices them differently. Check the rate for your exact date before you book.
• Book direct and early. Most luxury hotels take bookings on their own websites. Waiting until December usually leaves only the most expensive slots.
• Skip the buffet for a market crawl. Hot wine and street snacks at Gwanghwamun, then a normal restaurant dinner, costs a fraction of the price. Christmas Eve is a weekday, so a late lunch at a regular restaurant is easy to get.

New Year's Eve in Seoul: the bell, Gwanghwamun and Lotte World Tower

The Bosingak bell (보신각 제야의 종 (Bosingak Jeyaui Jong)). This is Seoul's main countdown, and it is free. On the 2025–26 night the bell was struck 33 times between 23:00 and 00:20, with 11 citizen representatives taking turns. The 2026–27 ceremony on Thursday, Dec 31 is expected (it is held every year), and the city usually publishes transit and road plans in the fourth week of December. The 2025 plan came out on Dec 25 (Seoul Mediahub). Crowd figures conflict. The city estimated about 32,000 people (Financial News), while other headlines claimed 100,000. Expect tens of thousands, and around −10°C at midnight, as it was last year.

What the 2025 plan looked like (use it as the likely template):

Measure (Dec 31, 2025 – Jan 1, 2026)	Detail
Subway	Lines 1–9, Ui-Sinseol and Sillim lines: last trains extended to 02:00 (arrival at the final station), 104 extra runs
City buses	45 routes extended to 02:00; 47 routes detoured around the closed area
종각 (Jonggak) station, line 1	Trains did not stop 23:00–01:00
Road closures	Jongno, Ujeongguk-ro and Cheonggyecheon-ro, 18:00 Dec 31 to 07:00 Jan 1
Bikes and scooters	16 따릉이 (Ttareungi) bike-share docks closed; e-scooters banned from the area 18:00–06:00
Staff	About 820 safety staff and 1,700 police; 4 warming shelters

Because Jonggak is skipped, get off at Gwanghwamun, Jongno 3-ga or 을지로입구 (Euljiro 1-ga) and walk. The closest spots to the pavilion fill first, so arrive early if you want to see the bell itself.

Gwanghwamun Square is a short walk away. In 2025 it held its own countdown as the finale of Seoul Light Gwanghwamun, which runs to Jan 3, 2027 this season. The Gwanghwamun market also stayed open late on Dec 31 (until midnight or 01:00, depending on the source). Seoul Con is confirmed at DDP for Dec 29, 2026 – Jan 1, 2027.

Lotte World Tower (Jamsil). The tower's countdown came back for 2025–26 for the first time in two years, with a media façade and laser show. Watching from outside is free. Reports disagree on the fireworks: one preview promised a show without fireworks, and after the night reports said the fireworks lasted only about 70 seconds. That drew complaints from people who had stood in the cold for a minute of fireworks (the 2018 show ran 555 seconds). Whether it runs in 2026–27, and in what form, is not confirmed. The paid Seoul Sky countdown package has no published price yet. Treat this as a light show, not a fireworks display, and only go if you are staying nearby.

Getting home: last trains and taxi fares

On New Year's Eve the extended subway is the cheap and reliable way home. Taxis are scarce near Jongno because of the road closures, and the fare is at its highest. Seoul's standard taxi fares, in force since February 2023 with no increase reported for 2026 (Seoul City):

Time	Base fare (first 1.6 km)	Distance charge	Surcharge
04:00–22:00	₩4,800	₩100 per 131 m	—
22:00–23:00 and 02:00–04:00	₩5,800	₩120 per 131 m	20%
23:00–02:00	₩6,700	₩140 per 131 m	40%

A time charge (₩100 per 30 seconds by day, rising by the same surcharge at night) runs when the cab is crawling. Deluxe 모범 (mobeom) and large taxis start at ₩7,000 for 3 km, or ₩8,400 with their 20% late-night surcharge (22:00–04:00). Leaving the city adds another 20%, and surcharges stack to a maximum of 60%.

Worked example: a 10 km ride. After the 1.6 km base, 8.4 km is 64 steps of 131 m.

• By day: ₩4,800 + 64 × ₩100 = ₩11,200
• 22:00–23:00: ₩5,800 + 64 × ₩120 = ₩13,480
• 00:30 on New Year's Day: ₩6,700 + 64 × ₩140 = ₩15,660, plus any time charge

For a group of three or four sharing, the post-midnight ride is still cheap per head. The real problem is finding a cab. Walk well clear of the closed zone before you hail one, or ride the subway two or three stops first. If your stop is on a line that ends early, see which transit card or pass to use. A T-money card saves queueing at ticket machines at 01:00.

Busan: Gwangalli drones, the Yongdusan bell and the Haeundae sunrise

Busan's year-end plans for 2026–27 are due in late December. Last year's pattern:

• Gwangalli drone countdown. In 2025, 2,500 drones flew over 광안리 (Gwangalli) beach in a program running 21:00–01:00, with about 67,000 people expected on the beach. It is free. (The regular Saturday drone show is covered in the Busan itinerary.)
• Yongdusan Park bell. Busan's citizens' bell at 용두산 (Yongdusan) Park is struck 33 times at midnight. Attendance was capped at about 7,000 in 2025, so arrive early.
• Late subway. Busan Metro ran its last trains about two hours later than usual, with extra runs, and about 700 police were deployed across the night's events.
• Gwangbok-ro Christmas tree lights in Nampo-dong are free. They ran Dec 5, 2025 – Feb 22, 2026, and the 2026 dates are expected in early December.

New Year's Day sunrise. 해운대 (Haeundae) is the classic spot. On Jan 1, 2026 around 100,000 people watched the first sunrise across Busan's 11 main viewpoints. Our calculation puts sunrise on Jan 1, 2027 at about 07:32 in Busan (Haeundae 07:31–07:32) and about 07:47 in Seoul. It is an astronomical calculation, not an official figure; the same method matched the official times for Jan 1, 2026 (Hankook Ilbo). The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute publishes the 2027 times in December. Sunset on Dec 31 is about 17:21 in Busan.

Getting there: KTX Seoul–Busan is ₩54,400 each way (₩108,800 round trip) since the September 2026 rail merger, booked in the 코레일 플러스 (Korail Plus) app. Year-end Busan hotel prices have not been published yet; Haeundae sea-view rooms on Dec 31 are likely to be priced like a peak night, so check before you book. A 찜질방 (jjimjilbang) is the cheap way to bridge the hours between the countdown and the sunrise, though beach-side ones fill on this night (jjimjilbang guide). Busan taxis also start at ₩4,800.

Where to eat and stay in Myeongdong (rated on Kakao Map and Google)

How we picked these: we pulled the rated places around the venue on Kakao Map (카카오맵 (Kakao Map), the map most Koreans use for reviews) and checked each one on Google Maps on 2026-09-23. The combined score weights each platform by how many ratings it has and pulls small samples toward 4.0, so a 5.0 from five people cannot beat a 4.4 from a thousand. Places rated well on only one platform (for example 4.8 on Kakao but 4.1 on Google) were left out. Naver Map no longer shows star averages, so it is not in the score — but the Naver link on each row opens the place there, which is where Korean visitors read the most recent reviews. Ratings move and places close; check the map before you go, and book dinner on fireworks nights and holidays.

Myeongdong is where the Christmas façade is and where most first-time visitors stay; these are the places that rate well with both Korean and international diners. Book barbecue and the hotel buffet for December 24–25.

Place	What	Google	Kakao Map	Combined	Maps
1. 다올 숯불구이 명동점 (Daol Sutbul Gui) Myeongdong 8-gil	Charcoal Korean barbecue	★4.8 (1,099)	★4.9 (829)	4.82	Kakao Google Naver
2. 왕비집 명동2호점 (Wangbi-jip) Myeongdong 9-gil	Korean barbecue, galbi	★4.7 (2,422)	★4.8 (219)	4.70	Kakao Google Naver
3. 마노디셰프 명동점 (Mano di Chef) UNESCO building, Myeongdong-gil	Italian with an 11th-floor view	★4.6 (877)	★4.3 (67)	4.44	Kakao Google Naver
4. 을지돈가스 (Eulji Donkatsu) Myeongdong 9-gil	Pork cutlet	★4.7 (96)	★4.6 (24)	4.42	Kakao Google Naver
5. 더그랜드롯데 서울 라세느 (La Seine, The Grand Lotte Seoul) Lotte Hotel, Euljiro	Hotel buffet — the Christmas splurge	★4.5 (1,319)	★4.1 (222)	4.32	Kakao Google Naver
6. 커피한약방 (Coffee Hanyakbang) Euljiro 2-ga, 5 min from Myeongdong	Hand-drip coffee in an old-style café	★4.5 (2,402)	★4.0 (380)	4.28	Kakao Google Naver

Staying here means you can walk to the façade and take one subway line to Jonggak for the bell (or walk 20 minutes).

Place	What	Google	Kakao Map	Combined	Maps	Book
1. 더그랜드롯데 서울 (The Grand Lotte Seoul) Euljiro, Myeongdong's north edge	Big luxury hotel next to the department stores	★4.5 (8,854)	★4.4 (184)	4.44	Kakao Google Naver	Check rates
2. 솔라리아 니시테츠 호텔 서울 명동 (Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel Seoul Myeongdong) Myeongdong 8-gil	Mid-range, central Myeongdong	★4.5 (1,350)	★4.3 (27)	4.38	Kakao Google Naver	Check rates
3. L7 명동 (L7 Myeongdong) Toegye-ro, by Myeongdong Station	Design hotel	★4.4 (1,827)	★4.0 (48)	4.26	Kakao Google Naver	Check rates
4. 퍼시픽호텔 (Pacific Hotel) Toegye-ro 20-gil	Older, cheaper, next to Myeongdong Station	★4.2 (1,235)	★4.4 (19)	4.18	Kakao Google Naver	Check rates
5. 롯데시티호텔 명동 (Lotte City Hotel Myeongdong) Samil-daero	Business hotel near Euljiro 3-ga	★4.2 (3,837)	★4.1 (71)	4.15	Kakao Google Naver	Check rates

For the Gwanghwamun side, see the restaurant and hotel lists in our Seoul Winter Festa guide.

Crowds and safety

Since the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, every large year-end event in Korea runs under crowd-management rules. Stations are skipped, roads are closed, bike-share docks are shut, e-scooters are banned, and police are deployed in large numbers. Expect all of it again in 2026. What that means for you:

• Follow the one-way routes and staff directions, even when they take you the long way round. Barriers go up in sections as each area fills.
• Agree on a meeting point in advance. Mobile data and calls can drop in dense crowds, as reportedly happened at Lotte World Tower in 2025.
• Dress for −10°C. Wear thermal layers, gloves and hand warmers; the city runs warming shelters near Bosingak. The packing guide by month covers December.
• Leave in stages. Exits are opened section by section; waiting for the first wave to clear is safer than pushing toward a packed station entrance.
• Numbers: 112 police, 119 fire and ambulance, 1330 tourist helpline (English).

Cost-cutting checklist

• Pick the free nights: Shinsegae façade, Gwanghwamun, markets and the Bosingak bell cost only the subway fare.
• If you want a hotel buffet, book an off-peak date as soon as prices come out in November. Christmas Day tables sell out first.
• Get home on the extended subway (expected to run until 02:00; check the late-December announcement) instead of a 40%-surcharge taxi.
• If you must take a cab, walk out of the closed zone first and share the ride; a 10 km trip is about ₩15,660 between 23:00 and 02:00.
• Get off at Gwanghwamun, Jongno 3-ga or Euljiro 1-ga, not Jonggak.
• For Busan, book KTX early in 코레일 플러스 (Korail Plus) and consider a jjimjilbang instead of a hotel on Dec 31.
• Re-check in December: Bosingak transit plan, Lotte World Tower program, hotel prices and official sunrise times.

The rest of the season is in the festival calendar for 2026–2027. Next in the series: winter festivals and ice fishing in 2027.