How crowd levels work
Seoul: live
We convert the congestion level (relaxed, normal, slightly busy, busy) and population range of Seoul’s “real-time population data” (estimated from mobile network signals) into a 0–100 score. It covers Seoul’s 121 official places and updates every 5 minutes. A few spots outside the official list are estimated from hourly and weekday patterns and marked as estimates.
Jeju & Busan: forecast
We use the Korea Tourism Organization’s visitor concentration forecast, built from KT mobile data and visit patterns since 2018 to predict the next 30 days. It is a relative scale where 100 is the busiest period, updated once a day, and the base date is shown on every page.
Score bands
0–39 relaxed · 40–69 moderate · 70–84 crowded · 85–100 very crowded. Estimated waits come from the score and the type of place (longer for food and shopping) and are a rough guide.
Limitations
Real-time population figures and forecasts can differ from the actual number of people on site, and festivals, events or weather can change things a lot. For important plans, check the situation on site too.
Data sources and terms
Seoul Metropolitan Government real-time population data (KOGL Type 1: attribution) · Korea Tourism Organization visitor concentration forecast · Busan Metropolitan City attractions · Busan Transportation Corporation metro station attractions · Jeju Tourism Organization Visit Jeju safety cameras · Maps: OpenFreeMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors