Seollal 2027 Train Tickets: When They Go on Sale and How to Book

Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year) 2027 runs from Saturday, February 6 to Tuesday, February 9. For those four days, millions of Koreans travel home, and KTX seats on the main routes are gone on sale day. Seollal train tickets for the holiday period are not sold on the usual rolling schedule — Korail sells them in a special sale, and that sale is expected around Jan 9–20, 2027 (estimate).

Seollal 2027 dates

Seollal falls on the first day of the lunar calendar, so the date moves every year. In 2027 Seollal day is a Sunday, which adds a substitute holiday on the Tuesday:

Date	What it is
Sat, Feb 6	Seollal holiday
Sun, Feb 7	Seollal day
Mon, Feb 8	Seollal holiday
Tue, Feb 9	Substitute holiday (because Seollal day is a Sunday)

Source: Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) official 2027 calendar. Note that Chinese New Year falls one day earlier (Feb 6) because of the time-zone difference.

Friday, February 5 is a normal working day, but many people leave straight after work, so the travel crush starts that evening.

When do Seollal train tickets go on sale?

Korail has not announced the Seollal 2027 sale yet. It usually publishes the schedule a few weeks before. Until then, the best guide is how far ahead of the holiday the last two sales ran:

Holiday	Sale announced	Priority sale*	General sale	General sale started
Seollal 2026 (holiday Feb 17)	Jan 7	Jan 15–16	Jan 19–21	29 days before
Chuseok 2026 (holiday Sep 25)	Aug 14	Sep 3–4	Sep 7–11	18 days before

* Priority sale is for seniors 65+, people with disabilities, eligible veterans and pregnant women only. Source: Korail press releases.

Applying the same gaps to Seollal 2027 (Seollal day is Sunday, February 7) gives:

Step	Estimated window
Korail announcement	Dec 16 – Jan 8
Priority sale	Jan 5 – Jan 16
General sale starts	Jan 9 – Jan 20

This is arithmetic, not an announcement. Both past sales ran on weekdays only, so weekend dates in this window are unlikely. We update this page as soon as Korail publishes the real dates.

One detail matters for most visitors: in Chuseok 2026, the Seoul–Busan KTX (Gyeongbu line) went on sale on the last of the 5 sale days, and trains from Suseo station had their own day. If you only care about Seoul–Busan (or Gyeongju, on the same line), you only need to be online on that one morning. Fares and times for those routes: KTX Seoul to Busan and KTX Seoul to Gyeongju.

Can foreign tourists book holiday tickets?

Yes, but the holiday sale is built for Korean residents, and it is the hardest booking of the year. Here is what Korail's own notice for Chuseok 2026 said, and what we could not confirm.

What the last official notice said (Chuseok 2026)

• Online only. Seats were sold through the Korail+ app and the holiday page on korail.com. There were no station counter sales during the sale.
• Korail members only. You had to log in with a Korail membership account; non-member booking was not available.
• A time limit on the booking screen — about 3 minutes per person once you reach it.
• Up to 12 tickets per person (round trip counted together), 6 per booking.
• Book now, pay later. Seats were reserved on sale day and had to be paid in a separate payment window a few days later. Unpaid seats were cancelled automatically.

It was busy: 1.8 million of 2.14 million seats sold in the Chuseok 2026 sale (84%), and 92.7% of KTX seats.

What we could not confirm

Korail's notice does not say whether the holiday sale page works in English or whether a passport-only account can use it. Several English-language travel guides report that the holiday page is often Korean-only. Treat it as a test you need to pass in advance:

• Create a Korail account on the English website or the Korail+ app weeks before, not on sale day.
• Make one normal booking with your foreign card to check that payment goes through.
• When Korail announces the Seollal sale, check whether the holiday page offers English or accepts your account.

Sold out? Four ways to still get on a train

A sold-out sale day does not mean sold-out trains. Seats keep coming back until departure, in a predictable order:

When	What happens
Afternoon of the last sale day	Leftover seats go on sale to everyone (Chuseok 2026: Fri, Sep 11, 15:00).
Right after the payment deadline	Reservations nobody paid for are cancelled in one go and handed to people on the waiting list.
The last 3 days before the holiday	People cancel plans — returns are frequent, often for single seats.
Departure day	Last-minute cancellations, and standing tickets once seats are gone.

• Join the waiting list. The app lets you register for a sold-out train; if a seat comes back you get it in queue order and must pay by the deadline it gives you.
• Check first class. First-class seats usually last longer than standard seats and cost roughly 1.4× the standard fare.
• Buy a standing ticket. Once seats are gone, standing (입석) tickets appear. On a 2½-hour Seoul–Busan run it is tiring but it gets you there.
• Go against the flow. Before the holiday, trains out of Seoul are packed; trains into Seoul are not. After the holiday it is the opposite.

Best and worst days to travel

Holiday traffic flows out of Seoul at the start and back into Seoul at the end. For the Seoul–Busan route this means:

Day	Seoul → Busan	Busan → Seoul
Fri, Feb 5	Very busy	Normal
Sat, Feb 6	Very busy	Quiet
Sun, Feb 7	Busy	Busy
Mon, Feb 8	Quiet	Very busy
Tue, Feb 9	Quiet	Very busy
Wed, Feb 10	Normal	Busy

Pattern from past holidays, not a forecast. The same shape applies to other routes out of Seoul.

If your itinerary is flexible, the easiest plan is to finish intercity travel before Fri, Feb 5 or start it after Wed, Feb 10. Buses are not an easy alternative: they also sell out, and expressway traffic can add hours to the trip at peak.

Korail Pass during Seollal

The Korail Pass stays valid over the holiday, but it is a pass to ride, not a seat. Pass sellers state that seats may not be available to pass holders during Seollal and Chuseok, and reservations are limited to a couple per day even in normal weeks. If you rely on the pass during Seollal, expect to stand on peak days, or buy a regular ticket for the one trip that matters.

Seollal 2027 train checklist

• Now: decide which trains fall inside the holiday window and which you can move outside it.
• Now: create a Korail account and test a booking with your card.
• Dec 16 onward: watch for Korail's Seollal sale announcement — we update this page the same day.
• Sale day: be online before the sale opens on the day your line is sold.
• Payment window: pay, or the seat is gone.
• Missed out: join the waiting list, check first class and standing, or travel against the flow.