Chuseok — Korea’s harvest thanksgiving — falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which typically lands in late September or early October. For 2025 that means October 5–7, with a national holiday window that stretches Monday through Wednesday. Millions of Koreans travel to their hometowns during those days. Trains sell out in minutes, highways grind to a halt, and many small restaurants simply close. With a little preparation, however, Chuseok is one of the most rewarding times to visit — and since the holiday falls right in the middle of Korea’s autumn foliage season, the scenery makes the crowds worth navigating. This guide tells you exactly how to navigate it.
Book Transport at Least Four Weeks Ahead
Koreans book Chuseok train tickets the moment reservations open — usually four to five weeks before the holiday. If you wait until two weeks out, KTX seats to Busan, Gyeongju, or Jeonju will be gone. Here is a practical timeline and what to book:
- KTX to Busan (Seoul–Busan): Book on Korail (korail.com) the day reservations open. Standard second-class seat costs around ₩59,800. Expect round-trip prices to jump 10–15 % if you book through third-party apps.
- ITX-Saemaeul or Mugunghwa: Slower but seats linger longer. Seoul to Gyeongju is about ₩27,400 on Mugunghwa — a fine option if the KTX is sold out.
- Express bus (고속버스): Kobus.co.kr sells tickets up to one month out. Seoul to Jeonju is roughly ₩10,800 — cheap and comfortable, but departure day traffic on the Honam Expressway can add two hours to a normal 2.5-hour ride.
- Flights to Jeju: Book 6–8 weeks out. Round-trip Air Busan or Jeju Air fares from Gimpo start near ₩80,000 during the holiday peak; they hit ₩200,000+ closer in.
If you miss the booking window, do not panic. Korail releases a small block of “standing tickets” (입석) for every KTX departure. You ride in the cafe car or aisle, but you get where you are going for the same base fare. Check the Korail app at 6 a.m. the day before — cancellations surface overnight. Since early October can still bring the tail end of typhoon activity, it is worth reviewing our guide to heavy rain and typhoon days in Korea before you lock in outdoor plans around the holiday.
Understand What Closes — and What Stays Open
The three-day Chuseok holiday is a genuine shutdown for family-run businesses. Plan your itinerary around the reality on the ground:
- Closed: Most traditional markets (Namdaemun, Gwangjang, Gukje in Busan), independent restaurants, and small souvenir shops. Even convenience stores in rural areas sometimes reduce hours on the actual holiday day.
- Open: Major department stores (Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai) and their attached food halls. All Starbucks and chain coffee shops. Large supermarkets like E-Mart and Homeplus. Theme parks: Everland and Lotte World run special Chuseok programmes with traditional game booths and hanbok discounts.
- Free entry or discounted: National palaces in Seoul — Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung — offer free admission on Chuseok day for visitors wearing hanbok. Several national museums also waive their usual ₩3,000–5,000 fees over the holiday.
- Worth seeking out: Folk villages like Andong Hahoe or the National Folk Museum in Seoul host live performances of ganggangsullae (circle dance) and ssireum (traditional wrestling). These are free and genuinely atmospheric.
Stock snacks and drinks in your hotel room the evening before Chuseok day. Convenience stores in city centres will be open, but neighbourhood spots close unpredictably.
Navigate the City Like a Local During the Rush
Seoul, Busan, and Daegu actually feel quieter than usual on the main Chuseok day — residents have left for their hometowns. The chaos is in the outbound and return traffic, not in the cities themselves. Use that to your advantage:
- Arrive in Seoul on Chuseok eve (the day before): Millions are already gone; popular attractions like Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon Hanok Village are noticeably less crowded than a typical weekend.
- Avoid driving: The Gyeongbu Expressway (Seoul–Busan) routinely logs 10-plus-hour journey times on the first and last day of the holiday. If you must rent a car, go against the flow — drive toward the capital while everyone else drives away.
- Use subway over taxis: Kakao T and other apps show huge surge pricing during return rush. Seoul Subway Line 1 and the Busan Metro run extended holiday schedules. A T-money card gets you anywhere in Seoul for ₩1,400 per ride.
- Day trips hit differently: Suwon Hwaseong Fortress and the Incheon Chinatown district are excellent half-day options from Seoul during Chuseok. Tour buses thin out; you get the sites nearly to yourself.
Eat, Dress, and Engage Like a Guest
Chuseok is built around food. Songpyeon — half-moon rice cakes stuffed with sesame, red bean, or chestnut and steamed over pine needles — are the defining treat. You can buy a box of eight at any Paris Baguette or GS25 for around ₩5,000–8,000, but the best versions are at traditional market stalls before they close. In Jeonju’s Hanok Village, rice cake stalls outside the old market gate sell them fresh until midday on the holiday itself.
Renting hanbok for a palace visit costs ₩15,000–25,000 for two hours from rental shops clustered near Gyeongbokgung North Gate. That fee effectively becomes free because palace admission is waived in traditional dress. Beyond the economics, wearing hanbok during Chuseok draws genuine warmth from Korean visitors — expect photo requests and spontaneous conversation.
A small gesture goes a long way: greet people with “추석 잘 보내세요” (Chuseok jal bonaeseyo — “have a good Chuseok”). Hotel staff, convenience store clerks, and taxi drivers will appreciate it every time. Nights can already turn cool by early October, so it is worth checking our seasonal packing list for Korea before you fly, especially if your trip stretches into the evening hours around the palaces.
Choose Your Accommodation Strategy Before You Book
Where you stay matters more during Chuseok than at any other time of year, because your choice determines how much of the rush you actually feel. Two broad strategies work, and which one suits you depends on your travel style.
Base yourself in one hub city vs. moving between towns. If you book a single hotel in Seoul, Busan, or Jeonju and take day trips from there, you avoid the worst of Chuseok’s transport crunch — you only travel once each way, ideally on the days before or after the peak crush. This suits travellers on a first visit, families with young children, or anyone uneasy about standing-room train tickets. If instead you plan a multi-city route (Seoul to Gyeongju to Busan, for example), you will be competing for seats on the two or three days when demand is highest nationwide. That suits confident independent travellers who booked trains weeks in advance and have flexible dates as a backup.
Hotel prices in Seoul’s popular districts (Myeongdong, Hongdae, Gangnam) typically rise by 20–40% for the Chuseok weekend itself, and rooms in smaller cities like Gyeongju or Jeonju can sell out entirely a month ahead because domestic tourists compete for the same rooms as foreign visitors — as of 2026, verify current rates before booking since holiday pricing shifts year to year. A local tip that rarely appears on booking-site advice pages: guesthouses and hanok stays just outside a city’s old town (rather than inside it) often keep normal pricing through the holiday, because domestic travellers overwhelmingly search for hotels near transit stations first. A ten-minute taxi ride from the historic core can save you real money and still land you somewhere pleasant to sleep.
If you are travelling with a JLPT-style eye for detail — or simply want peace of mind — confirm your booking includes free cancellation. Chuseok travel plans change often when train tickets do not come through, and hotels that allow cancellation up to 24–48 hours out give you room to pivot your itinerary if your first-choice transport falls through.