Korea Travel Changes December 2026: What's New

This is the second installment of our month-by-month roundup: what is actually different for a visitor landing in Korea next month, checked against official notices. The November 2026 edition covered the quiet switches of early autumn. December is busier. One airline disappears into another mid-month, an entry rule hits its end date on New Year’s Eve, and Christmas lands on a Friday.

Every item below carries a date and a source. If we couldn’t confirm something as of October 30, 2026, it isn’t here, or it’s clearly marked as last year’s example.

🗓️ December 2026 in Korea at a glance

Do I need a K-ETA for Korea after December 31, 2026?

Short answer: if you land on or after January 1, 2027 and no extension has been announced, yes. Trips that end by December 31, 2026 are still covered by the waiver.

The official K-ETA notice sets the current K-ETA 한시 면제 period as January 1 to December 31, 2026, Korea Standard Time, for the countries already exempt. That means 22 countries and regions, including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. On October 30, 2026, the newest item in the site’s notice list was an October 13 message about Gmail delivery delays. There was nothing about 2027.

That silence isn’t unusual. The last two extensions were only posted in December. We cover that history, and the arguments for and against applying early, in K-ETA in 2027: does the waiver end on January 1?

🛂 K-ETA and a December–January trip (as of October 30, 2026)

Group-tour schemes also hit December 31. Travel Times reported in June that the Ministry of Justice ties visa-free entry for Chinese tour groups to China’s own visa-free period for Koreans, which runs to December 31, 2026. For Indonesian groups of three or more booked through designated agencies, the Korea Herald and Korea JoongAng Daily reported a scheme starting May 28 that allows stays of up to 15 days until the end of December 2026. We found no announcement about either scheme for 2027.

What happens to Asiana Airlines flights on December 17, 2026?

Short answer: from December 17, 2026 (by departure date), every Asiana flight carries a Korean Air flight number and is operated by Korean Air. You don’t need to rebook; Asiana is moving existing bookings over for you.

Asiana’s notices set out the timetable. Domestic bookings move on November 2, 9 and 16. International bookings move in 17 batches between November 4 and December 3, grouped by travel dates and regions. Codeshare flights follow on December 7–9. Each batch causes a short freeze.

During that freeze you can’t make new bookings, change an itinerary that includes a transferred flight, or pick seats. Requests for special meals, unaccompanied minors, pets or passengers needing assistance close even earlier, from 6 PM two days before. Until December 16, changes and refunds go through Asiana or the agency you booked with. From December 17, they go through Korean Air or the agency. Flights flown from December 17 fall under Korean Air’s conditions of carriage, though Asiana says some Asiana terms that are better for the passenger can still apply.

🛫 Airports where the combined Korean Air / Asiana terminal changes from Dec 17, 2026

At Taoyuan, Asiana’s notice says that if you end up at Terminal 2, you can reach Terminal 1 by Airport MRT from level B2 or by shuttle bus from stop 10 on the arrivals floor. At Incheon, nothing moves in December. Asiana already switched to Terminal 2 on January 14, 2026, according to its notice list. If you’re overnighting there between flights, our Incheon transit hotel guide is still current on terminals.

Is Christmas a public holiday in Korea in 2026?

Short answer: yes. 기독탄신일 (Christmas Day) is Friday, December 25, 2026, so Seoul gets a three-day weekend from December 25 to 27.

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute’s 2026 calendar data lists December 25 (Friday) as the year’s last public holiday. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are not holidays, so offices and shops run on normal weekday schedules. The pattern repeats a week later: January 1, 2027 is also a Friday.

In Korea, Christmas is more of a couples’ and friends’ night out than a family day at home, so Christmas Eve is the night that books up first. For where the markets and big trees are this year, see Seoul Christmas 2026. If a cake is part of the plan, preorders matter more than you’d think; our Christmas cake guide has the timings. The full holiday calendar through 2027 is in Korea’s public holidays 2026–2027.

Those Korea Meteorological Administration normals mean December is properly cold. Mornings below freezing are routine, and wind makes it feel colder. The shortest day falls on December 22: 동지, the winter solstice, when many Koreans eat red bean porridge. Packing advice is in our Seoul winter cold survival guide.

What's on in Seoul in December 2026?

Short answer: the confirmed dates so far are the Seoul Plaza ice rink (from December 18), the Seoul Winter Festival on Seoul City’s plan (December 4 to January 31), and the Bosingak bell-ringing on December 31.

Seoul City has now published the full operating outline for the 서울광장 스케이트장, branded “Seoul On Ice” this year. Earlier listings marked it as provisional; that label is gone.

⛸️ Seoul Plaza ice rink 2026–27 (Seoul City festival listing)

The rink is next to City Hall Station Exit 5, and sessions can be suspended for bad weather or poor air quality. How booking works this season hadn’t been posted when we checked. Last season’s system and the alternatives are in our Seoul outdoor ice rinks guide.

• Seoul Winter Festival, December 4 – January 31. Seoul City’s 2026 festival roadmap lists these dates. The program, including whether the Cheonggyecheon lantern festival returns, hadn’t been released as of October 30. For light displays you can already plan around, see Seoul winter illumination tours.
• January festivals. The big ice-fishing festivals in Gangwon start in January, not December. Dates are in our winter ice festivals guide.

Will the subway run late on New Year’s Eve 2026?

Short answer: not confirmed yet. Seoul City has registered the 제야의 종 bell-ringing at Bosingak for December 31, 2026 to January 1, 2027, but the transport plan hasn’t been published.

The city’s festival listing promises a pre-show, the bell-ringing itself and artwork displays around Bosingak in Jongno. Last year, the traffic and safety plan was announced on December 30, the day before the event. Here’s what it contained, as a guide to what to expect.

Don’t assume the same times this year until Seoul City confirms them. Our New Year’s Eve countdown guide will be updated with the 2026–27 details. If you miss the extended trains, Seoul’s late-night transport guide covers night buses and taxis.

How much is the fuel surcharge on December flights?

Short answer: it depends on when you pay, not when you fly. A December flight booked in November pays the November table, and Asiana’s November rates are higher than October’s on every distance band.

✈️ Asiana Airlines fuel surcharge, international from Korea, one way (tickets issued Nov 1–30, 2026)

Asiana’s domestic surcharge also rose, to ₩25,300 one way for November tickets from ₩20,900. The airline states that the rate is fixed on the ticketing date: no extra charge if it rises before you fly and no refund if it falls. The table for tickets issued in December hadn’t been published on October 30. Last year Asiana posted its December table on November 17, so expect it mid-November. Korean Air and other carriers publish their own tables on the same monthly cycle.

We’ll be back with January. If anything on this list changes before you fly, the official links below are the place to check.