PST to KST
A quick way to get Korea time from the West Coast is to subtract 7 hours and add a day in winter, or subtract 8 hours and add a day in summer. 5:00 PM in San Francisco is 10:00 AM tomorrow in Seoul in winter and 9:00 AM tomorrow in summer.
Convert the other way: KST → PST
The "minus seven, plus one day" rule
Korea is 17 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time and 16 ahead of Pacific Daylight Time, which is the same as being 7 or 8 hours behind on the following date. That trick makes mental math easy: 11:00 PM Monday in Seattle is 4:00 PM Tuesday in Seoul in winter (minus seven, plus one day) and 3:00 PM Tuesday in summer.
Weekends start early on the other side. At 7:00 AM on a Friday in California in winter it is already midnight going into Saturday in Korea, and in summer that happens at 8:00 AM. Anything that needs a Korean reply before the weekend has to be sent on Thursday Pacific time.
Flights, dramas and the Busan lane
Westbound flights from Los Angeles to Incheon take about 13 hours and skip a calendar day. A late-night departure, say 11:30 PM on Monday in winter, lands around 5:30 AM on Wednesday in Seoul: Tuesday disappears in the air. Coming home, you land in California before you left Korea by the clock.
Many Korean dramas air in the Seoul evening; an episode at 9:00 PM KST is 4:00 AM Pacific in winter and 5:00 AM in summer on the same day, so West Coast viewers following streaming releases watch over breakfast. Cargo moves on the same clock: West Coast importers handling containers from Busan often hold their Korea call at 5:00 PM Pacific.
Cities on these zones
Pacific Time PST
PST → KST quick reference
Every hour of the day, using today's offsets (daylight saving is applied automatically).
| PST | KST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| 1:00 AM | 5:00 PM |
| 2:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| 3:00 AM | 7:00 PM |
| 4:00 AM | 8:00 PM |
| 5:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| 6:00 AM | 10:00 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 11:00 PM |
| 8:00 AM | 12:00 AM+1 |
| 9:00 AM | 1:00 AM+1 |
| 10:00 AM | 2:00 AM+1 |
| 11:00 AM | 3:00 AM+1 |
| PST | KST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | 4:00 AM+1 |
| 1:00 PM | 5:00 AM+1 |
| 2:00 PM | 6:00 AM+1 |
| 3:00 PM | 7:00 AM+1 |
| 4:00 PM | 8:00 AM+1 |
| 5:00 PM | 9:00 AM+1 |
| 6:00 PM | 10:00 AM+1 |
| 7:00 PM | 11:00 AM+1 |
| 8:00 PM | 12:00 PM+1 |
| 9:00 PM | 1:00 PM+1 |
| 10:00 PM | 2:00 PM+1 |
| 11:00 PM | 3:00 PM+1 |
- Difference right now
- KST 16 hours ahead of PST
- 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
A reliable weekly slot
Thursday at 5:00 PM Pacific is Friday at 10:00 AM in Seoul in winter and 9:00 AM in summer, early enough for the Korean team to act before the weekend. Check other dates in the time zone converter.
Clock changes this year
- Mar 8, 2026PST: clocks go forward, UTC−8 → UTC−7
- Nov 1, 2026PST: clocks go back, UTC−7 → UTC−8
- —KST: no clock changes this year
Other conversions with these zones
Frequently asked questions
- Is there an easy way to convert Pacific time to Korea time in your head?
- Subtract 7 hours and move to the next day in winter, or subtract 8 hours and move to the next day while the West Coast is on PDT.
- What time is 5 PM PST in Seoul?
- 10:00 AM the next day. In summer, 5:00 PM PDT is 9:00 AM the next day in Seoul.
- When does a late-night LAX flight arrive in Seoul?
- A departure around 11:30 PM on Monday lands early on Wednesday morning Korean time, after roughly 13 hours in the air.
- Do Korean weekends start before California's?
- Yes. Saturday begins in Korea at 7:00 AM Friday Pacific time in winter and 8:00 AM Friday in summer.