Korea Standard Time (Seoul)

Korea Standard Time (KST) is UTC+9 year-round, identical to Japan Standard Time. South Korea does not observe daylight saving time. Seoul, the capital, is home to the headquarters of Samsung, Hyundai, LG, SK Group, and other chaebol (large family-owned conglomerates) that are pillars of the global economy. The Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul is one of Asia's most active stock markets and operates on KST. South Korea's meteoric economic rise — the 'Miracle on the Han River' — transformed it from one of the world's poorest countries in the 1950s to the 10th-largest economy today. The country's timezone alignment with Japan facilitates the enormous bilateral trade between the two nations, despite historical tensions. Seoul is the world's most connected city by internet speed and smartphone penetration. K-pop, Korean cinema, Korean cuisine, and Korean gaming have become global cultural phenomena, all emanating from KST. South Korea's semiconductor industry (Samsung and SK Hynix produce most of the world's memory chips) operates on KST, making it a critical timezone for the global electronics supply chain. North Korea also uses UTC+9, having switched back from UTC+8:30 (Pyongyang Time) in 2018.