Busan is 16 to 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles, depending on the time of year. If you are both awake 7 am to 11 pm, a January weekday gives you 9 hours awake at the same time, though none of them is outside a 9-to-5 for both of you (in July: 8 hours shared, 0 hours free). Here are the good ones.
Busan is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles that week. On a weekday you are both awake for 9 hours, but none of them is outside work for both of you, so a lunch break or a commute has to do the work.
Worked out for the week of 11 January 2027 (11 Jan – 17 Jan), in Los Angeles time, with each zone’s own daylight-saving rules for those dates. Busan awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays; Los Angeles awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays.
A weekday, in Los Angeles timeboth awake
Los Angelesawake 7 am – 11 pm
Busanawake 2 pm – 6 am Los Angeles time
7a10a1p4p7p10p1a4a7a
Best on a weekday
7 – 9 pm Los Angeles
noon – 2 pm Busan · Los Angeles evening, Busan lunchtime (their next day) · during Busan’s lunch break
Another weekday option
2 – 4 pm Los Angeles
7 – 9 am Busan · Los Angeles afternoon, Busan morning (their next day) · during Los Angeles’s work hours
The long weekend call
Sat 6 – 9 pm Los Angeles
Sun 11 am – 2 pm Busan · Los Angeles early evening, Busan lunchtime
The week · Los Angeles time, 11 Jan – 17 Jan
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
9p
10p
Mon
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Tue
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Wed
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Thu
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Fri
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Sat
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Sun
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
Columns are Los Angeles hours; the small figure in each cell is the time in Busan. both freeboth awake, one at workBusan asleep
The Busan–Los Angeles gap through 2027
Dates
Difference
1 January – 13 March
Busan is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles
14 March – 6 November
Busan is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles
7 November – 31 December
Busan is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles
The week grid and call windows were worked out for 11 Jan to 17 Jan 2027 with the IANA time-zone rules for Asia/Seoul (Busan) and America/Los_Angeles (Los Angeles). That week Los Angeles is on standard time and Busan keeps the same time all year. The table uses the same rules for every day of 2027. The finder above recalculates for the current week in your browser.
When it is … in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles
Busan, January
Busan, July
7 am
midnight (next day)
11 pm
9 am
2 am (next day)
1 am (next day)
11 am
4 am (next day)
3 am (next day)
1 pm
6 am (next day)
5 am (next day)
3 pm
8 am (next day)
7 am (next day)
5 pm
10 am (next day)
9 am (next day)
7 pm
noon (next day)
11 am (next day)
9 pm
2 pm (next day)
1 pm (next day)
Wednesday times. Send times as “your 8 pm” or “my 8 pm” so nobody has to guess whose clock you mean.
Stop doing the math every day
The Long Goodbye keeps your person’s local time and time of day on your home-screen widget and lock screen, so you can see whether it is morning coffee or midnight in Busan before you call. A “thinking of you” tap lights up their widget, and a countdown keeps the next visit in view.
What is the time difference between Busan and Los Angeles?
Busan is 16 to 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles, depending on the time of year. In 2027 it is 17 hours from 1 January to 13 March and from 7 November to 31 December; 16 hours from 14 March to 6 November.
What is the best time to call Busan from Los Angeles?
In January, the easiest two hours on a weekday are 7 – 9 pm Los Angeles, which is noon – 2 pm Busan: Los Angeles evening, Busan lunchtime, the next day there, during Busan’s lunch break. At the weekend, Sat 6 – 9 pm Los Angeles (Sun 11 am – 2 pm Busan) gives you a longer call. Change the awake and work hours in the finder on this page to fit your own days.
How many waking hours do Busan and Los Angeles share?
If both of you are awake from 7 am to 11 pm, you share 9 hours on a January weekday, but none of them falls outside 9-to-5 working hours in both places; in July it is 8 hours shared and 0 hours free.
Does daylight saving time change the call times?
Yes. In 2027 Los Angeles changes its clocks on 14 March and 7 November and Busan does not change its clocks, so a call you keep at the same time in Los Angeles moves by an hour in Busan on those dates. Check the table on this page and agree the new time out loud after each change.