Korean Stock Market Trading Hours
The Korean Stock Exchange (KRX) operates Monday through Friday, excluding Korean public holidays.
Regular Trading Hours
| Session | KST | EST (UTC-5) | GMT (UTC+0) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-market | 08:00 – 09:00 | 18:00 – 19:00 (prev day) | 23:00 – 00:00 (prev day) |
| Regular market | 09:00 – 15:30 | 19:00 – 01:30 | 00:00 – 06:30 |
| After-hours | 15:40 – 18:00 | 01:40 – 04:00 | 06:40 – 09:00 |
Key Notes
- Lunch break: No lunch break (continuous trading)
- Settlement: T+2 (two business days)
- Currency: Korean Won (KRW)
For US-Based Investors
If you’re based in the US, Korean market hours overlap with your evening/night hours:
- Korean market opens at 7:00 PM EST
- Korean market closes at 1:30 AM EST
This means you can trade Korean stocks after your US market day ends.
Korean Stock Market Holidays 2026
Major holidays when KRX is closed:
- January 1 (New Year’s Day)
- Lunar New Year (multiple days)
- March 1 (Independence Movement Day)
- May 5 (Children’s Day)
- June 6 (Memorial Day)
- August 15 (Liberation Day)
- Chuseok (multiple days)
- October 3 (National Foundation Day)
- October 9 (Hangul Day)
- December 25 (Christmas)