Chuseok is the autumn harvest holiday, and in 2026 it falls on Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 September. Most people take Sunday as part of it.
Korea does not close. What happens is that everyone leaves the cities at once, and the small independent places you were counting on put a sign on the door.
What closes
The pattern is size. Small and family-run closes; large and chain stays open.
Likely shut for at least part of the holiday:
- Family-run restaurants, neighbourhood barbecue places, small noodle shops
- Independent cafés and bakeries
- Small boutiques, stationery shops, market stalls
- Smaller museums, local galleries, municipal attractions
- Banks and government offices, for the public holidays
Office districts in Seoul go quiet, so lunch options thin out in exactly the areas that are busiest on a normal weekday.
What stays open
- Convenience stores. GS25, CU, 7-Eleven and emart24 are the most reliable thing on any street during Chuseok.
- Chains. Starbucks, Paris Baguette, Mega Coffee, Twosome Place and the rest.
- Major attractions. Palaces, theme parks, observation decks and large heritage sites generally run through the holiday, often with extra programming.
- Subway and city buses. Normal service.
The palaces are free during Chuseok. That is the single best reason to be in Seoul that week. Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung open their gates without charge, and they run holiday events. Remember Gyeongbokgung still closes on Tuesdays and the others on Mondays.
The real problem is getting between cities
Trains, buses and flights do not stop. They become impossible to book.
KTX sells out weeks ahead for Chuseok. Treat a month before departure as the minimum if you want a specific train, and expect the worst crush on the outbound days just before the holiday and the return days at the end.
Roads are worse. A drive that normally takes three hours can take six or more on the peak days.
If your plan involves leaving Seoul that week, book now or plan to stay put. Staying put is genuinely fine: the city is emptier and easier than usual.
If you need a doctor or a pharmacy
This is the part worth reading before you need it.
Seoul keeps roughly 2,750 medical facilities and pharmacies open per day across the holiday — about 1,260 clinics and 1,490 pharmacies — plus emergency centres and 24-hour paediatric hospitals. They rotate, so the one nearest you may not be the one open.
| Need | Call |
|---|---|
| Help in English, including medical | 1330 |
| Ambulance or emergency | 119 |
| Seoul city information | 120 |
The official finder for on-duty clinics and pharmacies is e-gen.or.kr, which is mostly in Korean. If you do not read Korean, 1330 is faster — it is the tourist helpline and it operates in English, Japanese and Chinese.
Phone ahead before travelling to any clinic. Holiday hours change and the listings are not always current.
If you are here anyway
The week is quieter than normal in Seoul, the palaces cost nothing, and the weather in late September is usually the best of the year. Book anything intercity early, keep a convenience store in mind for the hours when nothing else is open, and treat the first day of the holiday as the one where plans go wrong.
Chuseok is not a reason to avoid Korea. It is a reason to book trains in August and not to count on the small place around the corner.
