KST to PST
Seoul is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles in winter and 16 hours ahead while California is on daylight time. 10:00 AM in Seoul is 5:00 PM the previous day in Los Angeles in winter and 6:00 PM the previous day in summer.
Convert the other way: PST → KST
Seoul and Southern California
Los Angeles County has the largest Korean community outside Korea, centered on Koreatown, and Korean companies cluster nearby: Hyundai Motor America is based in Fountain Valley and Kia America in Irvine. The Port of Busan and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are linked by one of the busiest transpacific shipping lanes. All of that business runs across a 16- or 17-hour gap that puts Seoul almost a full day ahead.
Esports grew up on this route too. League of Legends is made by Riot Games in Los Angeles, and its Korean league, the LCK, plays in Seoul evenings, which are early mornings on the West Coast. American fans of Korean teams know the feeling of a 2:00 AM alarm.
When Seoul and California share a date
The two cities are on the same calendar date only in the Seoul evening: from 5:00 PM to midnight KST in winter and from 4:00 PM to midnight in summer. Korea has no daylight saving time, so the change between 17 and 16 hours happens only on US dates, the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November.
For meetings, use the end of the California day. 4:00 to 6:00 PM Pacific is 9:00 to 11:00 AM in Seoul the next morning in winter; in summer the same Seoul morning matches 5:00 to 7:00 PM. For Korea and the East Coast, see Seoul to New York.
Cities on these zones
Pacific Time PST
KST → PST quick reference
Every hour of the day, using today's offsets (daylight saving is applied automatically).
| KST | PST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 8:00 AM−1 |
| 1:00 AM | 9:00 AM−1 |
| 2:00 AM | 10:00 AM−1 |
| 3:00 AM | 11:00 AM−1 |
| 4:00 AM | 12:00 PM−1 |
| 5:00 AM | 1:00 PM−1 |
| 6:00 AM | 2:00 PM−1 |
| 7:00 AM | 3:00 PM−1 |
| 8:00 AM | 4:00 PM−1 |
| 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM−1 |
| 10:00 AM | 6:00 PM−1 |
| 11:00 AM | 7:00 PM−1 |
| KST | PST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | 8:00 PM−1 |
| 1:00 PM | 9:00 PM−1 |
| 2:00 PM | 10:00 PM−1 |
| 3:00 PM | 11:00 PM−1 |
| 4:00 PM | 12:00 AM |
| 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM |
| 6:00 PM | 2:00 AM |
| 7:00 PM | 3:00 AM |
| 8:00 PM | 4:00 AM |
| 9:00 PM | 5:00 AM |
| 10:00 PM | 6:00 AM |
| 11:00 PM | 7:00 AM |
- Difference right now
- PST 16 hours behind KST
- Shared office hours
- No weekday working hours overlap; one side has to stretch before 9:00 or after 17:00.
- Daylight saving
- Only PST shifts its clocks
Clock changes this year
- —KST: no clock changes this year
- Mar 8, 2026PST: clocks go forward, UTC−8 → UTC−7
- Nov 1, 2026PST: clocks go back, UTC−7 → UTC−8
Other conversions with these zones
Frequently asked questions
- What is 10 AM Korea time in Los Angeles?
- 5:00 PM the previous day in winter (PST) and 6:00 PM the previous day in summer (PDT).
- How long is the flight from Seoul to Los Angeles, and when do you arrive?
- About 11 hours eastbound. A 3:00 PM departure from Incheon lands around 9:00 AM the same calendar day in Los Angeles in winter, or 10:00 AM in summer.
- Is Korea a day ahead of California?
- For most of the day. Until 5:00 PM in Seoul in winter, or 4:00 PM in summer, California is still on the previous date.
- Why do Korean companies in California meet in the late afternoon?
- Because 4:00 to 6:00 PM Pacific is the start of the next workday in Seoul, the only hours when both offices are open.