Seoul in December:
cold, little rain

Winter sets in with dry, cold wind. The outdoor ice rink at Seoul Plaza usually opens in mid or late December. At midnight on December 31 the bell at Bosingak in Jongno is rung for the New Year, and in past years trains skipped Jonggak Station around that hour, so get off at City Hall or Jongno 3-ga and walk.

Highs of 4°C and lows of −3°C. It was cold, and it felt colder once the sun went down. 5 rain days in a typical December: noticeable, but most days stayed dry. Most years sat near the average of 5, though 2020 dipped to 1 and 2023 climbed to 8.

With as little as 9.6 hours of daylight, the sightseeing day was short and dinner came after dark. Frost touched 25 nights of the month on average, enough to glaze puddles and shaded steps at first light. Not every year was typical: 2015 ran 2.2°C warmer than the mean, with highs of 6.5°C. The coldest night came in 2010, at −14.2°C.