Seoul First Snow: When It Comes and Why Koreans Care

Ask a Korean friend in November whether it has snowed yet and you may get a surprisingly precise answer. Not “a bit, last week”, but “not officially”. In Seoul, 첫눈 cheot-nun, the first snow, is a recorded event with a date, a place and an observer.

It is also a small cultural holiday that nobody gets a day off for. Here is when it tends to come, how it gets counted, why people care so much, and how to make the most of a snowy day in the city without slipping on the way.

When does Seoul get its first snow?

The Korea Meteorological Administration’s normal date for Seoul’s first snow is November 20, but the real date moves around by weeks. The normal is a 30-year average (1991 to 2020), and the dates below show how loosely any single year follows it. All dates are for the official Seoul station, as reported by Korean media from the weather agency’s announcements.

❄️ Seoul's first snow, last six winters (as of October 2026)

So the honest answer for a traveler is “late November to early December, with no promises”. The 2024 first snow is a good example of why the date alone tells you little: a light first snow came on November 26, and then 16.5 cm piled up at the Seoul station on the morning of November 27, the deepest November snow since Seoul’s records began in 1907, according to Newsis and Weekly Kyunghyang.

As of October 30, 2026 there is no forecast for this winter’s first snow, and there won’t be one weeks in advance. The weather agency’s short-term forecast usually flags snow a few days out. For what to pack in November and December, see our Seoul weather guide and the Seoul winter survival guide.

What counts as the official first snow in Seoul?

Seoul’s first snow is official only when weather-service staff see snow falling at the Seoul weather station in Songwol-dong, Jongno-gu. The agency keeps one fixed observation point so the record stays consistent from year to year.

That leads to a few rules that surprise people:

• It does not have to settle. Flakes that melt the moment they touch the ground still count.
• Sleet and graupel count. The agency treats any snow-type precipitation as "snow".
• Snow in other districts does not count. If it snows in Gangnam but not in Songwol-dong, Seoul has not had its first snow.
• Mountains don't count either. In November 2021, sleet on Bukhansan and Gwanaksan the day before the official first snow was not counted, Seoul Shinmun reported.

This is why your phone may fill with snow photos while the news still says “no first snow yet”, and why the official date can land on a day when you barely noticed anything.

Why is the first snow a big deal in Korea?

In Korea the first snow is less a weather event than a romantic one. It is the day you message someone you miss, the day couples go out for a walk, and a deadline written into songs, dramas and promises.

The classic line is 첫눈 오면 만나자, “let’s meet when the first snow falls”. It is a loose promise on purpose: nobody knows the date, so keeping it means paying attention to each other until it happens. When the snow does come, group chats light up with “첫눈 온다!” (it’s snowing!) and photos of streetlights.

Pop culture keeps the idea alive. The tvN drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin, 2016) leans heavily on first-snow scenes, and its soundtrack song by Ailee, “I Will Go to You Like the First Snow”, was the number-one song of 2017 on Korea’s Gaon yearly chart. Play it on a snowy night and most Koreans in their 20s and 30s will recognize it in a few notes.

If you are traveling as a couple, the first snow is one more thing to add to Korea’s long list of couple occasions.

Where should you go in Seoul on a snowy day?

The royal palaces are the classic choice: snow on the tiled roofs and stone courtyards is the image most Koreans picture when they think of a snowy Seoul. Go early. Snow on roofs and branches often melts or slides off by midday, and the paths get trampled fast.

Gyeongbokgung

The biggest palace, with wide courtyards and mountains behind it, so the snow reads well even in a light dusting. The pavilion on the pond at the back of the grounds is the shot people line up for. Gyeongbokgung is closed on Tuesdays, and outdoor guard ceremonies can be cancelled in harsh weather. Our Gyeongbokgung half-day course has the timetable.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Changdeokgung

Smaller buildings set into a wooded hillside, which makes it feel quieter and more enclosed in snow. The Secret Garden at the back needs a separate guided-tour ticket with limited places, so don’t count on getting in on short notice. Changdeokgung is closed on Mondays.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Deoksugung and the stone-wall road

Right by City Hall Station, so it is the easiest palace to reach when buses are crawling. The road along its outer stone wall, 덕수궁 돌담길, is free to walk and pretty in snow even if you skip the palace. Deoksugung is closed on Mondays.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Want deeper snow than Seoul usually gets? Settled snow is more reliable outside the city. Our snowy day trips from Seoul compare Nami Island, the Garden of Morning Calm and Gangwon’s mountains.

Is it safe to get around Seoul when it snows?

Yes, as long as you lean on the subway and expect the roads to be slow. Seoul’s first snow has been rough two years running. On December 4, 2025, heavy snow hit the evening rush: by 21:30, 19 roads were closed, including both directions of Gangbyeon Expressway, and the average speed downtown dropped to 5.9 km/h, Yonhap reported. The next morning the city added 20 extra subway runs, Asia Economy reported.

The city has a standing playbook. Under Seoul’s 2025–26 winter plan, which ran from November 15, 2025 to March 15, 2026, the response steps up with the forecast:

🚇 Seoul's snow response for buses and subways (2025–26 winter plan; 2026–27 plan not yet announced as of October 30, 2026)

The same plan lists 791 heated road sections and 1,096 snow-removal vehicles across the city. Main roads usually get treated quickly. Side streets, alleys and steep neighborhood lanes are where you will meet ice.

Snow days also have a quieter upside. Cafes fill with people watching the window, palaces empty out once the photographers leave, and for one evening the whole city seems to look up at the same time.