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Seoul unveils public transit, health measures for Lunar New Year holiday

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 15:24 Updated: 05 Feb. 2026, 16:44

A Seoul bus terminal is crowded with passengers during the Seollal Lunar New Year holiday season in January 2025. [YONHAP]

Subway and bus services in Seoul will be extended to run until 1 a.m. during the last two days of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Seoul city government said Thursday.

Throughout the holiday, which falls from Feb. 16 to 18, 72 emergency medical facilities will operate 24 hours a day, and an average of 2,600 hospitals and pharmacies will be open per day, the government said, unveiling its comprehensive holiday measures.

This year's three-day Lunar New Year holiday is extended by an extra two days due to the preceding weekend. Traditionally, Koreans head back to their hometowns to be with their family members and visit their ancestors' graves to commemorate them.

Trains on Seoul Metro-operated sections of Subway Lines 1 to 8, Line 9, the Ui-Sinseol Line and the Sillim Line will be operated an additional 128 times from Feb. 17 to 18 so that the last trains would arrive at their final destinations at 1 a.m. the next day.

City bus schedules will also be readjusted so that buses pass through five key train stations, including Seoul Station, and three major bus terminals at 1 a.m., the city government said.

The number of express and intercity buses departing from Seoul from Feb. 13 to 18 will be increased by 20 percent compared to normal times, transporting an additional 21,000 passengers per day, it added.

In the health and medical sector, 51 emergency medical institutions and 21 hospitals with emergency rooms will operate 24 hours a day as usual, the city government said.

Yonhap