SmogRank / Episodes / South Korea
South Korea, November and December 2025
For 2 days, from 30 November to 1 December 2025, 14 cities in South Korea had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Cheorwon, Gangwon-do, South Korea: 40.6 µg/m³ on 30 November, about 2.7× its usual 15.3.
No cause named We have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached 14 in 1 country
Days 2 30 November to 1 December 2025
Worst day 30 November 8 cities counted
Furthest above usual 3.7× Sokcho
Day by day
Play 30 November 8 cities at twice their usual or more
Changsu Jinan-gun Yeongdong Kinzan Gimcheon Okcheon Imsil Nangen Daejeon Gumi Waegwan Kurye Namsa Yŏnmu Sangju Chinju Nonsan Hwawŏn Hadong Iksan Changnyeong Cheongju-si Daegu Kimje Jeongeup Kwangyang Gongju Sejong Mungyeong Gwangyang Kunwi Damyang Suncheon Buyeo Jungpyong Naesŏ Koesan Gyeongsan-si Buan Gunsan Miryang Chinch'ŏn Beolgyo Gwangju Hayang Yeosu Hwasun Yecheon Jangseong Changwon Koch'ang Cheonan Chungju Masan Eisen Tongyeong Asan Andong Yesan Seonghwan Boseong Boryeong Anseong Kimhae Naju Hongseong Yeongju Pyeongtaek Yeonggwang Yangsan Geoje Jangheung Cheongsong gun Yeoju Gyeongju Yeongam Icheon-si Pubal Osan Busan Ungsang Muan Wŏnju Neietsu Tangjin Yeonil Gijang Ulsan Seosan Suwon Pohang Gwangju Hwaseong-si Yangp'yŏng Mokpo Seongnam-si Taesal-li Ansan-si Anyang-si Hanam T’aebaek Wabu Gwangmyeong Guri-si Hwado Namyangju Seoul Bucheon-si Sinan Incheon Goyang-si Gimpo-si Yangju Gangneung Munsan Tsushima Hwacheon Yanggu Ganghwa-gun Jumunjin Jeju City Kosong Seogwipo Iki Matsuura Karatsu Sasebo Imarichō-kō Itoshima Maebaru-chūō Koga Munakata Fukuoka Taku Takeo Ureshinomachi-shimojuku Koga Wakasugi Kasuga Higashigō Nakama Kashima Nōgata Kanzakimachi-kanzaki Saga Iizuka Kitakyushu Shimonoseki Tosu Ogōri Nagato Yanagawa Tagawa Chikugo Kanda Mine Tanushimarumachi-toyoki Yukuhashi Ukiha Onoda Yame Hagi Ube Buzen Hita Yamaguchi Nakatsu Hōfu Masuda Hamada Shūnan Yufu Kudamatsu Beppu Gōtsuchō Kunisaki Hikari Ōita Tsurusaki Yanai Ōtake Iwakuni Ōdachō-ōda Hiroshima Yae Gion Tsukumiura Izumo Kure Higashihiroshima Yawatahama Iyo Matsuyama Uwajima Hongch’ŏn Uijeongbu-si Jeonju Wanju Donghae City Santyoku Gaigeturi Goseong Chuncheon Haenam Gapyeong Cheorwon Sinhyeon Sokcho 27 Nov 28 29 30 1 Dec 2 3 4 Every measured city in the area, coloured by its PM2.5 that day; a dark ring marks a city at twice its usual or more. Bars: cities counted each day, coloured by their median level. Choose a day or press play; without JavaScript, the days link to that day's world ranking.
How it spread
Cheorwon Cheorwon, 27 November: 23.7 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Cheorwon, 28 November: 16.1 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Cheorwon, 29 November: 19.6 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Cheorwon, 30 November: 40.6 µg/m³, 2.7× usual Cheorwon, 1 December: 26.8 µg/m³, 1.8× usual Cheorwon, 2 December: 11.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Cheorwon, 3 December: 11.5 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Cheorwon, 4 December: 14.6 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Uijeongbu-si Uijeongbu-si, 27 November: 20.1 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Uijeongbu-si, 28 November: 12.4 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Uijeongbu-si, 29 November: 14.4 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Uijeongbu-si, 30 November: 33.8 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Uijeongbu-si, 1 December: 20.4 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Uijeongbu-si, 2 December: 6.4 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Uijeongbu-si, 3 December: 6.1 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Uijeongbu-si, 4 December: 10.2 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Hongch’ŏn Hongch’ŏn, 27 November: no reading Hongch’ŏn, 28 November: no reading Hongch’ŏn, 29 November: 10.4 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Hongch’ŏn, 30 November: 32.6 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Hongch’ŏn, 1 December: no reading Hongch’ŏn, 2 December: 11.0 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Hongch’ŏn, 3 December: 4.3 µg/m³, 0.3× usual Hongch’ŏn, 4 December: 5.9 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Chuncheon Chuncheon, 27 November: 17.1 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Chuncheon, 28 November: 8.4 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Chuncheon, 29 November: 16.3 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Chuncheon, 30 November: 30.1 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Chuncheon, 1 December: 17.8 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Chuncheon, 2 December: 8.9 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Chuncheon, 3 December: 6.2 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Chuncheon, 4 December: 8.4 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Gapyeong Gapyeong, 27 November: 20.2 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Gapyeong, 28 November: 10.7 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Gapyeong, 29 November: 13.2 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Gapyeong, 30 November: 29.5 µg/m³, 2.5× usual Gapyeong, 1 December: 19.5 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Gapyeong, 2 December: 5.8 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Gapyeong, 3 December: 6.1 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Gapyeong, 4 December: 8.1 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Sokcho Sokcho, 27 November: no reading Sokcho, 28 November: no reading Sokcho, 29 November: 9.8 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Sokcho, 30 November: 28.9 µg/m³, 3.7× usual Sokcho, 1 December: no reading Sokcho, 2 December: 6.2 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Sokcho, 3 December: 3.0 µg/m³, 0.4× usual Sokcho, 4 December: 5.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Santyoku Santyoku, 27 November: 17.2 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Santyoku, 28 November: 8.0 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Santyoku, 29 November: 10.3 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Santyoku, 30 November: 26.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Santyoku, 1 December: 26.3 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Santyoku, 2 December: 13.4 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Santyoku, 3 December: 6.5 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Santyoku, 4 December: 8.7 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Donghae City Donghae City, 27 November: 17.8 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Donghae City, 28 November: 9.6 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Donghae City, 29 November: 13.4 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Donghae City, 30 November: 25.8 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Donghae City, 1 December: 24.0 µg/m³, 2.0× usual Donghae City, 2 December: 17.2 µg/m³, 1.4× usual Donghae City, 3 December: 8.6 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Donghae City, 4 December: 9.1 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Wanju Wanju, 27 November: 16.8 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Wanju, 28 November: 8.5 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Wanju, 29 November: 9.7 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Wanju, 30 November: 18.3 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Wanju, 1 December: 36.4 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Wanju, 2 December: 11.8 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Wanju, 3 December: 7.4 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Wanju, 4 December: 8.0 µg/m³, 0.5× usual Sinhyeon Sinhyeon, 27 November: 17.1 µg/m³, 1.3× usual Sinhyeon, 28 November: 12.3 µg/m³, 1.0× usual Sinhyeon, 29 November: 11.5 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Sinhyeon, 30 November: 10.4 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Sinhyeon, 1 December: 35.5 µg/m³, 2.8× usual Sinhyeon, 2 December: 18.9 µg/m³, 1.5× usual Sinhyeon, 3 December: 11.2 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Sinhyeon, 4 December: 11.2 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Jeonju Jeonju, 27 November: 16.5 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Jeonju, 28 November: 8.2 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Jeonju, 29 November: 9.0 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Jeonju, 30 November: 15.1 µg/m³, 1.1× usual Jeonju, 1 December: 30.8 µg/m³, 2.2× usual Jeonju, 2 December: 10.9 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Jeonju, 3 December: 8.3 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Jeonju, 4 December: 10.5 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Goseong Goseong, 27 November: 20.3 µg/m³, 1.6× usual Goseong, 28 November: 9.8 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Goseong, 29 November: 11.6 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Goseong, 30 November: 11.0 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Goseong, 1 December: 29.3 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Goseong, 2 December: 15.3 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Goseong, 3 December: 9.5 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Goseong, 4 December: 9.3 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Gaigeturi Gaigeturi, 27 November: 24.9 µg/m³, 2.1× usual Gaigeturi, 28 November: 6.8 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Gaigeturi, 29 November: 6.9 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Gaigeturi, 30 November: 7.3 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Gaigeturi, 1 December: 27.3 µg/m³, 2.3× usual Gaigeturi, 2 December: 10.3 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Gaigeturi, 3 December: 8.2 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Gaigeturi, 4 December: 7.0 µg/m³, 0.6× usual Haenam Haenam, 27 November: 18.9 µg/m³, 1.7× usual Haenam, 28 November: 7.8 µg/m³, 0.7× usual Haenam, 29 November: 8.6 µg/m³, 0.8× usual Haenam, 30 November: 12.8 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Haenam, 1 December: 25.9 µg/m³, 2.4× usual Haenam, 2 December: 13.0 µg/m³, 1.2× usual Haenam, 3 December: 10.1 µg/m³, 0.9× usual Haenam, 4 December: 10.7 µg/m³, 1.0× usual 27 Nov 28 29 30 1 Dec 2 3 4 Every counted city, in the order the episode reached them, 3 days before to 3 after. Each square is a day, coloured by that day's PM2.5; outlined: at twice the city's usual or more. Good 0–50
Moderate 51–100
Sensitive groups 101–150
Unhealthy 151–200
Very unhealthy 201–300
Hazardous 301+
Every city it reached
City Days Highest Usual Above usual
Sokcho Gangwon-do, South Korea 1 30 November 7.8 3.7× Sinhyeon Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea 1 1 December 12.9 2.8× Cheorwon Gangwon-do, South Korea 1 30 November 15.3 2.7× Gapyeong Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 1 30 November 11.6 2.5× Haenam Jeollanam-do, South Korea 1 1 December 11.0 2.4× Chuncheon Gangwon-do, South Korea 1 30 November 13.0 2.3× Gaigeturi Jeju-do, South Korea 1 1 December 11.8 2.3× Goseong Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea 1 1 December 12.8 2.3× Wanju Jeollabuk-do, South Korea 1 1 December 16.3 2.2× Jeonju Jeollabuk-do, South Korea 1 1 December 14.1 2.2× Santyoku Gangwon-do, South Korea 2 30 November 12.2 2.2× Donghae City Gangwon-do, South Korea 1 30 November 12.0 2.2× Hongch’ŏn Gangwon-do, South Korea 1 30 November 15.2 2.1× Uijeongbu-si Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 1 30 November 15.8 2.1×
Daily means in µg/m³. Usual: the city's median for this time of year (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that.
Against other episodes in South Korea
Number 38 of 43 episodes in South Korea since our records began, by cities reached.
Japan and South Korea, March 2025 454 Japan and South Korea, March 2026 305 Japan and South Korea, January 2025 274 Japan and South Korea, February and March 2025 192 South Korea and Japan, January 2026 169 South Korea and Japan, February 2026 147 South Korea, February 2025 132 South Korea, November 2025 128 South Korea, February 2026 121 South Korea, December 2025 113 South Korea, January 2025 113 South Korea, December 2025 107 South Korea, November and December 2025 14 Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 43 .
Use this page SmogRank, South Korea, November and December 2025: 14 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 30 November to 1 December 2025, smogrank.com/episodes/2025-11-south-korea-4 (accessed 2 October 2026).
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You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms .
An episode is a run of days when many cities close to each other (four or more within 350 km on a day, 8 or more in all) each had a daily PM2.5 mean of at least 25 µg/m³ and at least 2 times their usual for that time of year. Found in our own measurements, not picked by hand. How we find episodes . Values are each city's daily mean of its own monitors; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source.
