KST — Korea Standard Time
See where KST is used, check its UTC+9 offset, and compare Korea Standard Time with other zones worldwide.
Meaning and Countries Using KST
KST stands for Korea Standard Time and uses a fixed UTC+9 offset. It is observed in North Korea and South Korea year-round.
No Daylight Saving Changes
KST does not observe daylight saving time, so the offset stays at UTC+9 throughout the year. The page tracks timezone rules and historical changes using the IANA timezone database.
Convert KST Across Zones
Compare KST with other time zones using visual hour-by-hour tables and scheduling grids. Export meetings with ICS download or send to Google Calendar and Gmail.
How to Convert KST to Other Time Zones
Open the KST converter page: Go to https://www.xconvert.com/time-converter/kst-time-zone to open the visual comparison grid with Korea Standard Time pre-loaded. This layout is useful when you need to line up working hours in Seoul, Busan, or Incheon with colleagues, clients, or suppliers in other regions without manually counting hours.
Add comparison cities: Click + Add City and search for cities you want to compare against KST. A practical setup is to add major partner locations used for cross-border work, then compare them with KST cities such as Seoul, Pyongyang, Busan, or Daegu to plan customer support coverage, manufacturing coordination, or remote team meetings.
Select a time range on the grid: Click Select to enter selection mode, then drag across the colored hourly slots on the KST row to highlight a meeting window in purple. You can drag the center of the selection to move it or use the left and right handles to resize it, which is especially helpful when you are trying to find overlap between standard office hours in South Korea or North Korea and another market.
Export and share the result: Once a range is selected, use the export options for ICS download, Google Calendar, Gmail, Copy to clipboard, or Share link. This makes it easy to send a confirmed meeting slot to a distributed team so everyone sees the same schedule in their own local calendar without rechecking the conversion.
About Korea Standard Time (KST)
KST stands for Korea Standard Time. Its standard offset is UTC+9, which means local time in the KST zone is nine hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time.
Korea Standard Time is used in North Korea and South Korea. Important cities in this time zone include Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Incheon, Pyongyang, Hamhŭng, Hŭngnam, Namp’o, and Sunch’ŏn, making KST the reference time for government, business, transport, and daily life across the Korean Peninsula.
KST does not observe daylight saving time and has no counterpart. That means the abbreviation remains KST throughout the entire year, which simplifies recurring scheduling because there is no seasonal switch to another time label.
Other abbreviations that share the same UTC+9 offset include AWDT, CHOST, I, IRKST, JST, PWT, TLT, ULAST, WIT, and YAKT. Even when the offset matches, the regional abbreviation and local usage can differ, so KST is the correct label when referring specifically to time in North Korea and South Korea.
KST and Daylight Saving Time
Korea Standard Time does not observe DST and has no counterpart. There is no spring clock change, no autumn clock rollback, and no alternate seasonal abbreviation used during any part of the year.
Because KST stays fixed at UTC+9 year-round, schedules involving Seoul, Pyongyang, Busan, or Incheon remain stable inside the time zone itself. This is especially useful for recurring business calls, logistics planning, and long-term calendar invites because the local Korean time does not shift seasonally.
For travelers and remote teams, this means any time changes in international meetings come from the other location, not from KST. If another country moves in or out of daylight saving time, the difference relative to KST may change, but KST itself does not switch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does KST stand for?
KST stands for Korea Standard Time. It is the standard time used in North Korea and South Korea, including major cities such as Seoul, Pyongyang, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Incheon.
Is KST the same as GMT?
KST is not the same as GMT. KST is UTC+9, so it is nine hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time, while GMT refers to the zero-offset time standard.
Which cities use KST?
Cities using KST include Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Incheon, Pyongyang, Hamhŭng, Hŭngnam, Namp’o, and Sunch’ŏn. These cities span both South Korea and North Korea, so KST is the common civil time across the Korean Peninsula.
What is the UTC offset for KST?
The UTC offset for KST is UTC+9. This offset remains constant throughout the year because Korea Standard Time does not use daylight saving time.
When does KST change for daylight saving time?
KST does not change for daylight saving time. There are no annual DST transition dates, and there is no seasonal counterpart abbreviation because the time zone stays on UTC+9 all year.
Does KST have a daylight saving counterpart?
No, KST has no counterpart. Unlike time zones that alternate between a standard and daylight abbreviation, Korea Standard Time keeps the same name and offset year-round.
Which countries use Korea Standard Time?
North Korea and South Korea use Korea Standard Time. That means the official time in cities such as Seoul and Pyongyang is based on the same UTC+9 standard.
Are there other time zone abbreviations with the same offset as KST?
Yes. Other abbreviations with the same UTC+9 offset include AWDT, CHOST, I, IRKST, JST, PWT, TLT, ULAST, WIT, and YAKT. Even so, KST is the correct abbreviation when referring specifically to Korea Standard Time in North Korea and South Korea.