South Korea and North Korea: What Time Is It in Each?
Measuring time is a way for humanity to feel in control of their lives, and for nations, observing the same time helps enhance their unity and belonging. The two Koreas – South and North, have had different time arrangements since a massive political split following World War II.
The policy of unified time across the Korean peninsula ended in August 2015, when North Korea deliberately and unilaterally set its clocks 30 minutes ahead. This means that while South Korea is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), North Korea is 9 hours and 30 minutes ahead.
In terms of South Korea, most people living in the country follow the local time in the same manner as the rest of East Asia, three hours ahead of Japan’s time and 9 hours ahead of the GMT. For example, 1 pm South Korea Time, is 12 pm Japan Time, and 4 am GMT.
North Korea has been on its own time zone since April 2015, having made their own minor adjustment. Such a policy is seen as an effort to sever its political ties with South Korea, which runs in line with the country’s animosity towards its southern neighbour.
Time experts have questioned the rationale behind North Korea’s policy of having a separate timezone, suggesting that scarce resources could have been better used elsewhere. Moreover, some have argued that by maintaining its own time, the North can further distance itself from the rest of the world, something which its leaders possibly deem as beneficial.
The disparity between both timezones only serves to emphasize the massive political schism between the two Koreas, which have been politically and ideologically at odds with each other for decades. Even so, people living in South Korea are still well-informed with what is happening in the North, which suggests that there is still some form of cultural exchange taking place.
How Does North Korea Measure Time?
Since 2015, North Korea has been on its ‘Pyongyang Time’ – a 30 minutes difference from Seoul’s local time zone. It is believed that North Korea is trying to create an atmosphere of differentiation from the South, and the change in time is seen as part of this move.
In North Korea, time is based on UTC+09:30, which comes a little later than the UTC+09:00 used by South Korea. This means that as well as being behind 30 minutes compared to the South, the North is also slightly behind the UTC+08:00 used by Japan and China, among others.
Pyongyang’s adoption of UTC+09:30 is an indicator of the self-proclaimed ‘Juche’ or ‘Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism’ ideology – an effort from its leadership to assert the nation’s own political agenda.
It’s interesting to note that while North Korea has adopted a different time zone to the South and the rest of the world, this hasn’t affected the way it measures the time of day. The clocks in the North adopt the same 24-hour cycle as the rest of the region.
What Happened Before The Change?
Before the re-arrangement of South and North Korean time, the Korean peninsula was on Korean Standard Time (KST), with an offset of UTC+09:00. This meant that all of the Korean peninsula, from East to West, was running on the same time zone.
It was during the Japanese colonial era that KST was first adopted across the peninsula, when Japan forced its colonies to observe Japanese Standard Time – or UTC+09:00. This continued until the end of World War II, when the two Koreas declared independence from Japan and went their separate ways.
KST has been in place for most of modern Korean history, with the nation having reclaimed their own time zone after the Korean War finished in 1953. It was only in August 2015, when North Korea opened the political gap between itself and the South, that the time differences were cemented, each side keeping their respective clocks.
The Consequences Of Different Time Zones
The separate time difference between South and North Korea has come as a huge inconvenience to pre-existing transportation links, as well as links between families still separated on either sides.
For instance, travelling between South and North Korea went from a relatively simple administrative and logistical task to a much more complicated one, with airlines having to adjust their existing route timing for the North and South respectively.
Similarly, moving goods between the two countries has now become much harder. This has left many businesses and industries financially worse off, with goods from North Korea becoming increasingly difficult to transport across the border.
Perhaps the most concerning consequence from the change in time, are the further limitations of cross-border contact between North and South Korea – already a rare occurrence – with the two neighboring nations having little to no connection between them, except for the occasional diplomatic circle.
North Korea’s Attempt To Distance From South Korea
The 30 minute time difference between the two Koreas has a significant political connotation to it. The regime in Pyongyang sees the differing time as a symbolic way of distancing itself from its southern neighbouring country and its western-style democracy.
For years, the regime of North Korea has withheld information coming from the south and sought to keep it away from its citizens, with the difference in time being seen as a further step in this direction.
It is highly likely that North Korea’s authoritarian leadership does not want the country’s citizens to be exposed to the outside world, for fear that such influence can give rise to ideas and tendencies which can threaten the leadership’s grip of power.
Maintaining Pyongyang Time is seen as another way for North Korea to impose its own political values, something which it has always sought on its own terms.
How Has South Korea Responded?
The South Korean government has mostly been accepting of the North’s decision to re-arrange its time, reserving its comments to a minimum.
This might have been because of the often-strained relationship between both governments, and Seoul’s reluctance to challenge Pyongyang’s system. On more than one occasion, the South has issued statements referring to the importance of peace and unity across the border.
The South seems to realise that the time difference is unlikely to be reversed, as it has its own symbolic resonance coming from the North. Therefore, the only viable option is to continue to make sure that South Korea is informed of all relevant events taking place in the North.
South Korea’s Remedial Actions
South Korea has generally tried to take active measures to make the lives of North Korean citizens a lot easier, despite the recent tightening of border controls.
In terms of the time difference, South Korea has made its own special adjustments, such as when national sporting events take place between the two countries. During times like this, one sports camp can adjust the time to ‘accurately’ account for the time difference, to allow the games to run smoothly. Additionally, some businesses have taken it upon themselves to adjust their services to make them more accessible from both sides of the border.
Overall, South Korea has reacted to the North’s policy change with acceptance and understanding, knowing that there is very little that can be done to reverse the situation. As a result, the country has taken measures to help minimize the disruptive effects of the North’s drastic time policy.
The Impact On The Future
With the two Koreas’ divisions still in effect, it is unknown whether the same timezone arrangement between the two countries will ever be re-established. The recent events in the Korean peninsula, such as the 2018 Peace Talks and the Pyongyang joint declaration, have increased optimism among citizens of the South, but the precise impact of such events remains uncertain.
Given the state of the Tumen River, which has acted as the unofficial border between the two countries, it is clear that the process of reconciliation will take plenty of time. As such, the structure of the two timezones remains in place for the foreseeable future.
Finally, it should be noted that the existing separate timezone arrangement does not affect the spirit of the Korean people, which is still very much alive, with people on both sides looking for ways to bridge the gap between them.
