Time in South Korea KST UTC+09:00 01:11, 26 November 2024 KST [refresh ] DST is not observed in this time zone.
South Korea has one time zone, Korea Standard Time (GMT+9 ), which is abbreviated KST .[ 1] [ 2] South Korea currently does not observe daylight saving time .[ 3]
From May 8 to October 9 in 1988, daylight saving time was tested to better accommodate the calendar of competitions held during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul .[ 4] [ 5]
History
In 1434, inventor Jang Yeong-sil developed Korea 's first automatic water clock , which King Sejong adapted as Korea's standard timekeeper. It is likely that Koreans used water clocks to keep time prior to this invention, but no concrete records of them exist.[ 6] In 1437, Jang Yeong-sil, with Jeong Cho, created a bowl-shaped sundial called the angbu ilgu (앙부일구 ), which King Sejong had placed in public so anyone could use it.[ 7]
Geographically, the western parts of Korea , including the South Korean capital city, Seoul , are GMT+08:00 . In 1908, the Korean Empire adopted a standard time , GMT+08:30. In 1912, during the Japanese occupation of Korea , the Governor-General of Korea changed standard time to GMT+09:00 to align with Japan Standard Time . However, in 1954, the South Korean government under President Syngman Rhee reverted the standard time to GMT+08:30. Then in 1961, under the military government of President Park Chung-hee , the standard time was changed back to GMT+09:00 once again.[ 8]
In order to accommodate American television viewers, South Korea observed daylight saving time (GMT+10:00) when Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics . The one-hour time change meant that many daytime events could be broadcast live from South Korea when it was prime time on the U.S. east coast .[ 4]
North Korea also uses Korea Standard Time. From August 2015 to May 2018, North Korea changed its time zone to GMT+08:30, a time zone known as Pyongyang Standard Time ,[ 9] [ 10] but the change was reverted to promote Korean unity.[ 11] [ 12]
IANA time zone database
The IANA time zone database contains one zone for South Korea in the file zone.tab , named Asia/Seoul.
References
^ "표준시" [Standard Time]. Doosan Encyclopedia (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ "KST" . Geospatial Information System Glossary (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ "Current Local Time in South Korea" . timeanddate.com .
^ a b Chad, Norman (1987-01-30). "Live From Seoul, 1988 Olympics Now Are Ready For Prime Time" . Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ Chappell, Bill (2017-03-29). "The Olympics' TV Time-Delay Is Going Away, NBC Says" . National Public Radio . Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ Pak, Sŏng-nae (2005). Science and Technology in Korean History: Excursions, Innovations, and Issues . Jain Publishing Company. pp. 96–99. ISBN 0895818388 .
^ Park, Changbom (2008). Astronomy: Traditional Korean Science . Ewha Womans University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-8973007790 .
^ Yu, Jeong-in (2010-08-09). "1961년 표준자오선 동경 135도로 변경" [1961 Standard Meridian Changed to 135 Degrees East]. Kyunghyang Shinmun . Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ "North Korea's new time zone to break from 'imperialism' " . BBC News . 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ "Turning back the clock: North Korea creates Pyongyang Standard Time" . Reuters . 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2018-03-03 .
^ Westcott, Ben; Yoonjung, Seo; Watkins, Eli (29 April 2018). "North Korea will close main nuclear test site in May, South says" . CNN . Retrieved 29 April 2018 .
^ "혼란 주던 '30분 시차' 사라진다…서울 표준시로 "통일" " (in Korean). 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29 .
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