KST to EST

Korea Standard Time is UTC+9 all year. South Korea last used daylight saving in 1987 and 1988, around the Seoul Olympics, and has not changed its clocks since. New York moves from EST (UTC−5) to EDT (UTC−4) on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November, so the difference is 14 hours in the cold months and 13 in the warm ones.

That shift catches K-pop fans every spring. Agencies usually release new songs at 6:00 PM KST, which is 4:00 AM in New York in winter and 5:00 AM in summer, on the same calendar day. A fan who set an alarm for 4:00 AM in February needs to move it to 5:00 AM after the US changes clocks.

Much of Korea's recent investment in the United States sits on Eastern time: Hyundai's Metaplant and SK On's battery plant in Georgia, LG Energy Solution's battery plant in Holland, Michigan, and Korean suppliers across the Southeast. Engineers there report to headquarters in Seoul, which is already starting the next day when the American shift ends.

The cleanest handoff is the American late afternoon. 5:00 PM in Georgia is 7:00 AM the next day in Seoul in winter and 6:00 AM in summer, so many teams meet at 6:00 or 7:00 PM Eastern, which is 8:00 or 9:00 AM in Seoul depending on the season. The New York to Seoul page covers the calls that start on the US side.

When MLB opened its 2024 season in Seoul with the Dodgers and Padres at the Gocheok Sky Dome, the 7:05 PM first pitch on March 20 was 6:05 AM in New York, because the US had switched to daylight time ten days earlier. Korean evening events generally land in the early morning on the East Coast.