Seoul Empties Out During Chuseok 2026 — And Honestly? It's the Best Time to Go Outside

Hey everyone! Quick heads up for anyone spending this fall in Korea: Chuseok is coming (Sept 24–27, 2026) — Korea's biggest family holiday. And I'm not here to explain the traditions or the history. I'm here to tell you what your actual week is going to look like: your neighborhood will shut down, and the city will empty out. And once you stop panicking about the first part, the second part is kind of magical.

What Closes During Chuseok in Seoul 😅

My first Chuseok, nobody warned me. I woke up hungry, walked to my usual kimbap place — closed. The tteokbokki spot next door — closed. The bakery, the coffee shop, even the tiny mart where the owner knows my order — all dark, all with little handwritten notes on the door saying they're off for the holiday.

Family-run places basically all take 2–3 days off, because the whole point of Chuseok is going home to family. What stays open: convenience stores (bless them), big franchise chains, major malls, and delivery apps (though fewer restaurants and longer waits).

The move: do a big grocery run before September 24. Fill your fridge like you're preparing for a cozy little apocalypse. Future you will be grateful.

Why an Empty Seoul During Chuseok Is the Best Part 🌳

Here's what nobody tells you: while your street shuts down, half of Seoul leaves the city. Everyone goes to their hometowns. And what's left behind is a version of Seoul you'll never see any other week of the year.

My roommate and I figured this out by accident. Day two of the holiday, bored and slightly stir-crazy, we walked to the han-gang park near us — the one that's normally a battlefield of picnic mats where you can't find a patch of grass after 2 PM. Empty. Like, pick-any-spot-you-want, hear-the-birds empty. We just sat there stunned, like we'd snuck into the city after closing time.

So we kept going all week:

• Han River parks — normally packed, now wide open. Best picnic conditions of the entire year, and late September weather is perfect.
• The subway — you get a seat. At any hour. On line 2. I didn't know that was possible.
• Popular neighborhoods — places that are usually shoulder-to-shoulder on weekends feel like a quiet movie set. Walking through them half-empty is surreal.
• The evening of Chuseok itself — the full moon is the brightest of the year, and watching it rise over the river with almost no crowd around? Genuinely one of my favorite Seoul memories.

Our Lazy Chuseok Routine in Seoul 🧺

No itinerary, no pressure. Our whole holiday was basically: sleep in → make breakfast from the stocked fridge (see: survival prep) → wander to the park with snacks and iced coffee from the convenience store → lie on the grass doing absolutely nothing → walk home through quiet streets → repeat.

One night we grabbed songpyeon (the half-moon rice cakes — buy them from a rice cake shop or supermarket before the holiday) and ate them by the river under the full moon. Zero tradition performed correctly. Ten out of ten anyway.

Chuseok as an international student can feel a little lonely at first — everyone else "goes home" and the city goes quiet on you. But flip it: for four days, the most crowded city you've ever lived in becomes calm, soft, and completely walkable. Stock your fridge, grab a friend, and go take up space in a park that's finally, blissfully empty. 🌕