2027 Seollal holiday dates and train ticket booking: when it opens and what to prepare
Accurate as of October 21, 2026. The 2027 Seollal train booking schedule has not been announced yet. The timing below is an estimate based on recent holidays; check Korail's notice for the actual schedule.
2027 Seollal holiday dates
According to the 2027 calendar announced by the Korea AeroSpace Administration on June 29, 2026, Seollal (Lunar New Year) 2027 is Sunday, February 7.
| Date | Type |
|---|---|
| Sat, Feb 6 | Seollal holiday |
| Sun, Feb 7 | Seollal |
| Mon, Feb 8 | Seollal holiday |
| Tue, Feb 9 | Substitute holiday |
Because the holiday overlaps a Sunday, Tuesday, February 9 becomes a substitute holiday, giving a four-day break from Saturday to Tuesday. With the break starting on a Saturday, demand is likely to peak on Friday evening and Saturday morning departures and on Tuesday afternoon return trains.
When will booking open?
The last two holidays show a pattern.
| Holiday | Schedule announced | Priority booking | General booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seollal 2026 (Feb 17) | Jan 7 | Jan 15–16 | Jan 19–21 |
| Chuseok 2026 (Sep 25) | Early Sep | Sep 3–4 | From Sep 7 |
Both times, booking opened about a month before the holiday. For Seollal 2026, priority booking for passengers with mobility needs ran 9 a.m.–3 p.m. and general booking 7 a.m.–1 p.m., split by rail line. If the pattern holds, the 2027 Seollal schedule is likely to be announced in early January 2027 with booking in mid-January. This isn't confirmed, so watch Korail's notices from early January.
What to do now
- Check your integrated account: Chuseok 2026 booking was open only to integrated members. Existing Korail members were converted automatically, but SR-only members had to sign up or convert separately. Sign in now and check your account.
- Priority-group verification: for Chuseok 2026, pregnant women were included in priority booking, and eligible people who weren't senior members had to verify on the holiday page in advance. If this applies to you, check how to verify before booking.
- Pre-register your trip: for Chuseok 2026, the holiday page opened about ten days before booking for train searches and trip pre-registration. If the same feature opens, register early.
- Pick candidate trains: choose first to third choices for date and time. The first morning and last afternoon of the break sell out first.
On booking day and after
- Get in right on time: queue numbers are given in the order requests reach the server. Use Korail server time to hit the hour, and don't refresh once you have a number.
- Payment deadline: holiday tickets are paid separately after booking closes. For Seollal 2026, general-booking tickets had to be paid by January 25; unpaid bookings were cancelled automatically and passed to the waitlist.
- Returned tickets: they appear right after the payment deadline and as departure approaches. If you missed out, join the waitlist.
The full holiday booking flow is in Holiday train tickets in Korea.