The short answer

  • December is songnyeonhoe season, when offices, friend groups and clubs hold year-end parties. Seoul's own data shows late-night taxi demand peaks on Thursdays and Fridays, with Friday the busiest.
  • Taxis cost 40% more between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. (20% from 10 to 11 p.m. and 2 to 4 a.m.). If you are out late on a December Friday, an Owl Bus (N routes, ₩2,500 by card) is often the easier ride home.
  • In December 2025 Seoul ran extra late buses, extra Owl Buses and temporary taxi stands. The 2026 plan was not out as of October 30, 2026, so check Seoul TOPIS in early December.
  • The drink-driving limit is 0.03%, bikes included. Rented a car? Leave it or book a designated driver.

It is a Friday in mid-December, a little after 11 p.m., outside Gangnam Station. Groups in long padded coats spill out of barbecue restaurants, someone is giving a final speech on the pavement, and every taxi that passes already has a passenger. Nobody here is a tourist. This is 송년회 songnyeonhoe, the Korean year-end party, and for about four weeks it changes how Seoul’s evenings run.

You don’t need an invitation to feel it. If you are in Seoul in December, it decides when restaurants are packed, how hard it is to get a cab at midnight and which streets are loud at 1 a.m. Here is how the season works and how to move around it.

What is songnyeonhoe, and how is it different from hoesik?

Songnyeonhoe means “party to see off the year”. It is a December gathering of any group: coworkers, old classmates, sports clubs, church groups, friends. A hoesik is a company dinner that can happen any month. Songnyeonhoe is the year-end version, and it isn’t limited to the office.

Background

You may also hear the older word 망년회 mangnyeonhoe, roughly "party to forget the year". The National Institute of Korean Language lists it as a Japanese-influenced Sino-Korean word and suggests songnyeonhoe or songnyeon moim ("year-end gathering") instead. Both words point to the same December dinners, but songnyeonhoe is the standard term today.

🍻 Hoesik vs songnyeonhoe at a glance

Regular hoesikSongnyeonhoe
WhenAny time of yearDecember, busiest on Thursday and Friday nights
WhoYour team or departmentTeams, whole companies, old classmates, clubs, friend groups
The excuseA welcome, a project wrap-up, team spiritClosing out the year together
What a traveler noticesNot muchCrowded nightlife streets and long waits for taxis late at night

Inside the party itself, the pattern is familiar: dinner first, then a 2차 second round at a bar, and for some groups a third round at a noraebang (karaoke room). Our hoesik guide walks through those rounds and how to leave politely. This guide is about the city around them.

Do Koreans still hold year-end parties?

Most do, though fewer people love them. In a December 2025 survey of 888 office workers by the HR company Incruit, reported by The Scoop and Yeongnam Ilbo, 69.7% said their workplace had a year-end party scheduled, and 58.8% said such parties are needed.

69.7%
Office workers with a year-end party scheduled in 2025 (Incruit)
47.5% vs 68.9%
Workers in their 20s vs those 50 and over who say year-end parties are needed (Incruit)
196.3
Monthly drink-driving crashes in Seoul in December, 2022–2024 average, the highest of any month (Seoul police via Herald Economy)

The age gap is the interesting part. The same Incruit survey found that workers in their 20s and 30s mostly prefer a meal during working hours with no drinking, while those in their 40s and 50s prefer an evening dinner with drinks. Among people who said the parties aren’t needed, the top reason (52.2%) was that they eat into personal time.

How workers want their year-end party (Incruit, December 2025): a meal followed by coffee or tea 32.8%, a meal followed by drinks 31.9%, a meal only 28.8%, tea time only 6.5%. The all-night version is now a minority taste, but dinner with drinks hasn't gone anywhere.

When are the busiest year-end party nights in December 2026?

Thursday and Friday nights from mid-December, with Friday the worst. That isn’t a guess: in its December 2025 transport plan, Seoul’s city government said late-night taxi demand is concentrated on Thursdays and Fridays, and spikes most on Fridays. In 2024, late-night taxi trips rose about 10.1% from November (46,160) to December (50,838), according to the same release.

Here is how December 2026 falls. The notes on the right are what Seoul did in December 2025, the most recent season, not a promise for 2026.

📅 December 2026 Thursdays and Fridays (notes = what Seoul did in December 2025)

WeekThursdayFridayWhat to know
1Dec 3Dec 4Season warming up. In 2025, Seoul’s push for extra late-night taxis ran through the whole month
2Dec 10Dec 11In 2025, the first night of temporary taxi stands was Friday, December 12
3Dec 17Dec 18In 2025, late buses ran to 1 a.m. from December 15, extra Owl Buses started December 17, and taxi stands opened December 18 and 19
4Dec 24Dec 25Christmas Eve is a Thursday. Christmas Day is a Friday and a public holiday. In 2025, taxi stands also ran on Christmas Eve, and the late-bus extension skipped the holiday
5Dec 31—New Year’s Eve. See our countdown guide for Bosingak and transport home

Practical tip

  • Eat early on Thursdays and Fridays. Office groups tend to sit down after work, so a 5:30 or 6 p.m. table is easier to get than an 8 p.m. one.
  • Book the dinners that matter. CatchTable, a Korean restaurant-booking app, has had an English version since 2022, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. For walk-in places, go before the evening rush.
  • Save your big night out for a Monday to Wednesday if your dates are flexible. Seoul's figures put late-night taxi demand at its peak on Thursdays and Fridays.
  • Plan the ride home before the first drink. On a December Friday, it is far easier to know your Owl Bus route at 9 p.m. than at 1 a.m.

How much is a late-night taxi in Seoul?

A regular Seoul taxi adds 20% from 10 to 11 p.m., 40% from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., and 20% again from 2 to 4 a.m. This is the 심야할증 simya haljeung, the late-night surcharge. Seoul set these hours and rates in December 2022 and raised the base fare to ₩4,800 on February 1, 2023. We found no later fare change as of October 2026.

🚕 Seoul regular (mid-size) taxi base fare by time (Seoul Metropolitan Government, rates from February 2023)

TimeSurchargeBase fare (first 1.6 km)
4 a.m.–10 p.m.None₩4,800
10–11 p.m.+20%₩5,800
11 p.m.–2 a.m.+40%₩6,700
2–4 a.m.+20%₩5,800

After the base fare, the meter adds ₩100 per 131 m (or per 30 seconds in slow traffic), with the same surcharge on top. A trip that leaves Seoul adds a separate 20% out-of-city surcharge. Large and deluxe taxis follow their own fare table with a 20% late-night surcharge from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The real problem in December isn’t the price. It is finding an empty cab. Seoul’s 2025 crackdown on drivers who refuse passengers focused on 15 spots, including Myeongdong, the Gangnam Station area, Hongdae and the Euljiro–Jongno–Dongdaemun stretch. Those are the same streets where year-end crowds gather. If a driver with the vacant light on waves you off, our guide to taxi refusals in Seoul explains how to get in first and report it.

Practical tip

  • Walk one or two blocks away from the main crowd before hailing or calling a cab. Everyone outside the station exit is competing for the same cars.
  • Look for a temporary taxi stand. In 2025 Seoul set them up at Gangnam Station (in front of Shake Shack and CGV Gangnam), Jongno's Youth Street and Hongik University Station Exit 9, from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on four peak nights.
  • Leave before 11 p.m. or after 2 a.m. if you can. You skip the 40% window, and you miss the crunch: Seoul staffed its 2025 taxi stands from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. for a reason.

How do you get home after the last subway in December?

Take an Owl Bus. Seoul’s late-night 올빼미버스 Owl Buses carry route numbers starting with N. As of March 2026 there are 14 routes and 140 buses, running between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., at ₩2,500 by transit card. The subway is the bigger trap: on Saturdays the last trains leave about an hour earlier than on weekdays. Our late-night transport guide lists last trains at major stations and every N route.

Each December, Seoul has also added temporary late-night service. This is what it ran in 2025:

🦉 Seoul's year-end late-night transport measures, December 2025 (last season)

MeasureDecember 2025 details
Later regular buses87 routes at 11 hubs, including Hongik Univ. Station, Gangnam, Jongno 2-ga, Sinchon, Yeouido, Seoul Station and Myeongdong, ran their last buses until 1 a.m. from Dec 15 to 31 (Mon–Sat, not on public holidays)
Extra Owl Buses28 extra buses from Dec 17 to 31 (Tue–Sat), for 168 in total
Temporary taxi stands4 stands in Gangnam, Jongno and Hongdae, 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Dec 12, 18, 19 and 24
More late-night taxisTarget of 1,000 more taxis on the road between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays
Refusal crackdown15 spots including Myeongdong, Gangnam and Hongdae, 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., until Dec 26

Seoul announced the 2023 version on November 30 and the 2025 version in early December. As of October 30, 2026, the 2026 plan had not been published. Check the Seoul TOPIS website or the city’s transport news page in early December for this year’s dates and routes. Don’t expect later subway trains, though. A Seoul city media article in December 2025 explained that extending last trains is difficult because tracks need overnight maintenance.

What are Korea's drink-driving rules, and what is daeri unjeon?

Korea’s limit is a blood alcohol level of 0.03%, and it applies to bicycles as well as cars. Article 44 of the Road Traffic Act sets the threshold, and Article 148-2 sets the penalties. These are the bands for a first offense in a car:

⚖️ Drink-driving penalties under Korea's Road Traffic Act, Article 148-2 (law in force as of October 2026)

Blood alcohol levelPenalty
0.03% to under 0.08%Up to 1 year in prison or a fine of up to ₩5 million
0.08% to under 0.2%1–2 years in prison or a fine of ₩5–10 million
0.2% or more2–5 years in prison or a fine of ₩10–20 million
Refusing a breath test1–5 years in prison or a fine of ₩5–20 million

Repeat offenses within 10 years carry heavier ranges. On a Ttareungi (Seoul’s public bike), a reading of 0.03% or more brings a ₩30,000 fine, the city reminded riders in its December 2025 transport article. The law measures what is in your blood, not when you drank, so a big night can still put you over the limit the next morning.

Background

December is the worst month for drink-driving crashes in Seoul. Herald Economy reported Seoul police figures showing an average of 196.3 such crashes in December from 2022 to 2024, ahead of January (177.3) and July (173.7). In December 2025 all 31 Seoul police stations ran daily checks, day and night, through the end of the year, focusing on major roads in the Gangnam area. No 2026 schedule had been announced as of October 30, but expect checkpoints.

If you rented a car, the Korean answer is 대리운전 daeri unjeon, a designated-driver service. You request a driver, they come to where you are, and they drive you home in your own car. Kakao T, Kakao Mobility’s app, offers it as Kakao T Daeri: you enter pickup and destination, see an estimated fare, and pay with a card registered in the app. Prices depend on distance and time, so check the estimate before you confirm. Simpler still, leave the car at the hotel on party nights. Our guide to Korea’s drinking rules covers other limits for visitors, such as where you can drink outdoors.

Invited to a Korean year-end party? A quick checklist

Go for dinner, and don’t feel you have to stay for every round. A friend’s or coworker’s songnyeonhoe is a warm invitation, and nobody expects a visitor to know every custom.

Sources