OPDADA · Korea Guide

Traveling in Korea During Chuseok 2026

September 24–26, 2026 — what shuts, what stays open, and how to check before you go

Chuseok is Korea's autumn harvest holiday and, with Lunar New Year, the biggest family holiday of the year. In 2026 it falls on Thursday September 24 to Saturday September 26, with Chuseok day itself on Friday September 25 (Korea Tourism Organization, 2026-08-23 confirmed). Under the government's public-holiday rules, a substitute day is added for the Seollal and Chuseok holidays only when they overlap a Sunday or another public holiday, not a Saturday (Ministry of Personnel Management, 2026-08-23 confirmed). None of the three 2026 days does, so no substitute holiday is expected: a three-day break flowing into the weekend.

For a visitor this is neither a disaster nor a bonus: most tourist infrastructure keeps running, a few things close for one day, and trains and roads get crowded predictably. This guide explains what typically closes, what stays open, and how to check the place you care about. Where we cite 2024 or 2025 examples, treat them as practice, not a rule; 2026 notices will only appear in September.

The dates at a glance

DateStatusWhat it means for you
Wed Sep 23Working dayOutbound travel builds through the afternoon and evening
Thu Sep 24Public holidayBanks, government offices and post offices closed; most tourist sites open
Fri Sep 25Chuseok dayThe one day many things close: national museums, department stores, some marts and small restaurants
Sat Sep 26Public holidayReturn traffic heavy; shops and restaurants mostly back
Sun Sep 27Normal SundayReturn traffic continues; banks reopen Monday

Japan's Silver Week is September 19–23, 2026: Respect for the Aged Day on the 21st, a bonus holiday on the 22nd because it sits between two holidays, and Autumnal Equinox Day on the 23rd (Cabinet Office of Japan and Nippon.com, 2026-08-23 confirmed). It ends the day before Chuseok begins, so flights and hotels in Seoul, Busan and Jeju may be busy from September 19 through 27.

What closes on Chuseok day — and how to check

Rule of thumb: Chuseok day (Sep 25) is the day that matters for closures. The days either side are legal holidays (offices and banks shut), but leisure venues mostly treat them like weekends.

What stays open — and often gets better

Trains: the KTX crunch

Chuseok is the hardest time of year to get a KTX seat. KORAIL sells the holiday's seats in a special advance sale roughly four to five weeks before the holiday. In 2025 it ran September 1–4 for an October 6 Chuseok: September 1–2, 09:00–15:00, for seniors, people with disabilities and national-merit holders, then September 3–4, 07:00–13:00, for everyone, lines split between the two days; online or phone only, members only. Unpaid reservations were cancelled by a set date and passed to the waiting list (KORAIL press release, 2026-08-23 confirmed).

  1. Watch korail.com notices in late August for the 2026 sale; expect a similar members-only online sale about a month before September 24. Confirmation needed: dates and times are set each year.
  2. Register as a KORAIL member beforehand; membership was mandatory in 2025.
  3. Seats reappear. Unpaid reservations return to the pool and cancellations rise in the final days. Check the app on September 22–23 and again for your return day.
  4. Travel against the flow. Seoul-bound on the 24th and outbound on the 26th is the easier direction.
  5. Alternatives and passes: SRT, express buses and domestic flights exist, but we have not verified their 2026 holiday rules, nor the KORAIL Pass seat-reservation rule for these dates; check each operator. Pass basics: /guide/ktx-korail-pass-guide.

Roads: expect the worst on Chuseok day

Do not plan a Seoul–Busan road trip on the holiday days. For 2025 the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport forecast 32.18 million trips, 84.5% by private car, with Seoul–Busan taking about 8 hours 10 minutes on the peak outbound day and 9 hours 50 minutes on the peak return day; the busiest expressway day was Chuseok day itself (MOLIT forecast via Newsis, 2026-08-23 confirmed).

The government also waived expressway tolls for four days around Chuseok 2025 (October 4–7), by a cabinet decision on September 23 (korea.kr, 2026-08-23 confirmed). Confirmation needed: 2026 will be decided in September; treat it as a bonus, not a plan. If you must drive, leave very early and check the Korea Expressway Corporation app for live congestion.

Accommodation, money and deliveries

What to actually do on Chuseok day

  1. Morning: Gyeongbokgung. If the free-opening practice continues, walk in without a ticket; the guard-changing ceremony ran at 10:00 and 14:00 in 2024.
  2. Midday: Bukchon and Insadong. The hanok alleys are open; some shops close, but tea houses and galleries mostly run.
  3. Afternoon: a folk program. Namsangol Hanok Village was open 09:00–21:00 in 2025 and the city listed folk games at markets; check Seoul's guide for 2026 venues.
  4. Evening: Han River. Parks, convenience stores and bike rentals are open, and the full moon is the point of the holiday.

Wider autumn picture: /guide/korea-festivals and /guide/seasons-and-packing.

How to verify any specific place in five minutes

  1. Search the venue name plus “추석 휴무” (Chuseok closure) or “휴점일” (closure day); official notices appear one to two weeks before.
  2. Open its Naver Map or Kakao Map listing; holiday hours are often updated there first.
  3. Palaces: the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center notice board. National museums: the “Closed days” line. Marts: the chain's closure-day lookup.
  4. If in doubt, call the Korea Travel Hotline, 1330 (+82-2-1330 from abroad), which Seoul's city government lists as 24/7.

As of the last check, 2026 store-level and event schedules had not yet been announced.

FAQ

Q. Will every restaurant be closed on Chuseok day?
No. Independent restaurants often rest on Chuseok day and sometimes the day before, while chains, convenience stores and restaurants in hotels, malls and stations generally stay open. Delivery-platform data shows restaurants reopening toward the end of the holiday, with orders jumping the day after Chuseok. Check a specific restaurant's Naver Map listing or call ahead.

Q. Is Seoul public transport running during Chuseok?
Yes. Subways, buses, taxis and the airport railroad all run. For 2025 Seoul listed first buses at 04:00 and last buses at midnight, subways from 05:30 to around midnight, and AREX even started its first Seoul Station train earlier than usual. Expect normal service again in 2026, with crowded intercity stations rather than empty city transit.

Q. Can a foreign visitor buy KTX tickets for Chuseok?
Yes, but the holiday seats are sold in a members-only advance sale about four to five weeks before the holiday; in 2025 the public days were September 3–4, 07:00–13:00, online only. Register as a KORAIL member before the sale opens. Unpaid reservations and cancellations return to the pool, so keep checking the app in the final days.

Q. Will expressway tolls be free in 2026?
Unknown until September. Tolls were waived for four days around Chuseok 2025 by a cabinet decision about two weeks before the holiday. It is a recurring practice rather than a law, so do not build a plan around it, and remember the roads are slowest on Chuseok day regardless.

Q. What happens if I need a doctor on September 25?
Emergency rooms operate 24 hours through the holiday. For non-emergencies, the E-Gen portal and app list clinics and pharmacies open on each holiday day, and you can ask by phone on 119, 129 or 120. Hotel front desks can help you search in Korean.

Q. Why does this guide keep saying 'confirm' about palaces and tolls?
Because free palace entry, toll waivers and ticket-sale dates are decided fresh each year and announced only one to three weeks before Chuseok. 2024 and 2025 show the pattern, but the scope changed between those years (all palaces in 2024, Gyeongbokgung and Chilgung only in 2025), so the 2026 notice is the only reliable answer.

Sources

Written and maintained by OPDADA · Last checked 2026-08-23 · Spotted an error? Let us know. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules, prices and schedules change — confirm with the official source before you act.