Stocks
South Korean Market Trading Hours and Holidays — No Lunch Break, Lunar New Year and Chuseok Dates Vary Annually 韓国市場の取引時間と休場日 — 昼休みがなく、旧正月と秋夕は毎年動く
There is no time difference between Japan and South Korea. The displayed times are directly in Korean time. However, the market dynamics differ considerably.
**No Lunch Break**
The Korean market operates continuously from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM without interruption. Unlike Tokyo's break from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, there is no midday halt.
This means that the pattern familiar to Japanese stock investors, where 'morning news is digested during the lunch break, leading to a gap at the opening of the afternoon session,' does not structurally occur. As price movements are continuous, you simply follow the intraday trends as they unfold.
There are pre-opening and pre-closing call auction periods where the opening and closing prices are determined.
**Holidays Don't Align**
This is the most troublesome aspect in practice. In addition to weekends, South Korean public holidays are observed as market holidays, but few overlap with Japanese holidays.
Lunar New Year (Seollal) and Chuseok (Mid-Autumn Festival) require particular attention. As both are based on the lunisolar calendar, their dates change every year, resulting in a holiday period of several days, including the days before and after. From a Japanese perspective, the Korean market may suddenly appear to be closed for several days.
It is recommended to confirm the dates for the year at the beginning of the year. Other holidays include March 1st Movement Day, Children's Day, Buddha's Birthday, Memorial Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, Hangeul Day, and Christmas. Buddha's Birthday also follows the lunisolar calendar, so its date shifts.
There are also year-end customs. In Korea, it is customary for December 31st, the day after the last business day of the year, to be a holiday. This differs from the Japanese year-end closing ceremony (Ounaikai), so care must be taken when planning year-end ex-dividend dates and settlement schedules.
The reverse is also true. On some days during Japan's Golden Week, Obon, or year-end holidays, the Korean market remains open even when the Japanese market is closed. When only one market is open due to a holiday, it is likely to be followed by a gap-up or gap-down movement when the other market reopens.
**Practical Handling**
By checking the annual business day calendar published by the Korea Exchange once at the beginning of the year and writing down at least the dates for Lunar New Year and Chuseok in your planner, you can largely prevent major omissions. The key is not to miss these two holidays.
It is most reliable to confirm the actual business days each year, as there are also regulations for substitute holidays when a public holiday falls on a weekend.日韓に時差はありません。表示された時刻がそのまま日本時間です。ただし市場の動き方はかなり違います。
**昼休みがない**
韓国市場は9時から15時30分まで途切れずに動き続けます。東京のような11時30分から12時30分の中断がありません。
これが意味するのは、日本株で慣れている「前場の材料が昼休みに消化されて後場寄りでギャップ」という展開が構造的に起きないということです。値動きが連続的になる分、日中の推移をそのまま追うことになります。
寄付前と引け前には同時呼値の時間帯があり、そこで始値と終値が決まります。
**休場日が揃わない**
ここが実務上いちばん厄介です。土日に加えて韓国の祝日が休場になりますが、日本と重なるものは多くありません。
特に注意が必要なのが旧正月（ソルラル）と秋夕（チュソク）です。どちらも旧暦に基づくため毎年日付が変わり、前後を含めて数日間の連休になります。日本から見ると韓国市場だけが突然数日止まって見えることになります。年初にその年の日付を確認しておくことをおすすめします。
このほか三一節、子どもの日、釈迦誕生日、顕忠日、光復節、開天節、ハングルの日、クリスマスなどがあります。釈迦誕生日も旧暦基準なので日付が動きます。
年末についても慣行があります。韓国では年内最終営業日の翌日にあたる12月31日が休場となるのが通例です。日本の大納会の感覚とはずれるので、年末の権利確定や決済スケジュールを組むときは注意が必要です。
逆方向も同じです。日本のゴールデンウィーク、お盆、年末年始の一部の日には日本市場が閉まっていても韓国市場は開いています。祝日を挟んで一方だけが動く局面では、休み明けにギャップを伴って追随する動きが出やすくなります。
**実務的な対処**
韓国取引所が公表する年間の営業日カレンダーを年初に一度確認し、旧正月と秋夕の日付だけでも手帳に書き写しておけば、大きな取りこぼしはほぼ防げます。この二つを外さないことが要点です。
祝日が土日と重なった場合の振替の扱いもあるため、実際の営業日は毎年確認するのが確実です。
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