The fourth Thursday of November is a Thursday like any other in Seoul. Your Korean coworkers will be talking about kimjang, the office will run late, and nobody will bring up turkey unless you do.

Last updated: October 12, 2026 (KST)

Here is the bottom line. US Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, 2026, and it is a regular working day in Korea. You have three realistic ways to eat a turkey dinner in Seoul that week. Order a whole roast turkey set from a hotel for pickup (about 350,000 to 450,000 KRW, or $250 to $320, for six to eight people, based on 2025 prices). Book a seat at one of the expat restaurants that run Thanksgiving menus (55,000 to 86,000 KRW, or $39 to $61, per person). Or host a potluck and cheat on the oven. Hotels publish their 2026 menus between late October and mid November, so put the dates in your calendar now and book in the first week of November.

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The Calendar Problem

Nothing closes. Korea's November has no public holiday, the next one after Hangul Day is Christmas, and Canadian Thanksgiving already passed on October 12. Most expat dinners therefore happen on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday after the day itself, which in 2026 means November 27 to 29.

Two Korean things overlap with the week:

• Kimjang (김장, the annual kimchi-making) Seoul's traditional kimjang window opens in late November, so supermarkets are stacked with napa cabbage and radish, not cranberries. If a Korean friend invites you to help, say yes. It is the closest local equivalent to a Thanksgiving kitchen.
• Korean Thanksgiving Sunday (추수감사주일) Most Korean Protestant churches hold their harvest thanksgiving on the third Sunday of November, which is November 15, 2026. That tradition dates to the Presbyterian councils of 1904 to 1921. It is a church service with a decorated altar, not a turkey dinner.

The Korean national harvest holiday is Chuseok, which was in September. Our Chuseok 2026 guide covers that one.

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Option 1: Order a Whole Turkey from a Hotel

Seoul's five-star hotels have sold Thanksgiving turkeys to go every November for at least a decade. Grand Hyatt's deli was doing it in 2015 at 212,000 KRW. The sets have grown into full dinners for six to eight people, and the prices have roughly doubled. These are the 2025 programs. Expect the 2026 versions to look the same with slightly different dates, and check each hotel's Naver Reservation page from late October.

• Grand Hyatt Seoul, The Deli (Yongsan) The classic Thanksgiving To-Go. About 5 kg slow-roast turkey, plus roast duck, porchetta, beef Wellington and pumpkin, pecan and apple-raspberry pies. Sold November 1 to 30 in 2025, orders at least three days ahead via Naver or the deli at 02-799-8167. Price was not published in the 2025 release.
• JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square, Tavolo 24 Ten years running. A 6 kg turkey brined for 24 hours, gravy, cranberry, truffle mash, clam chowder, apple pie. 450,000 KRW (about $320) for six, 10 percent off when ordered by mid November. Tel 02-2276-3320.
• Westin Josun Seoul, Rubrica (Sogong-dong) US turkey of 5.6 to 6 kg with chestnut stuffing and tomato gravy, serves six to eight. 450,000 KRW to go or 500,000 KRW (about $357) to eat in the restaurant. Order five days ahead. Tel 02-317-0033.
• Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas (Samseong) Turkey set 450,000 KRW, 48 hours ahead, free delivery within Seoul, 10 percent off for November bookings. The one to pick if you cannot carry a 6 kg bird on Line 2.
• JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Patisserie (Banpo) Turkey with mash, bacon cabbage and gravy for 360,000 KRW (about $257), or 420,000 KRW with a pie. Pickup ran November 4 to December 31 in 2025.
• Le Meridien Seoul Myeongdong, La Palette Paris 350,000 KRW (about $250) for about ten items including the turkey, smoked salmon, cottage pie and a bottle of red wine. Tel 02-2184-7300.
• AC Hotel Seoul Gangnam 350,000 KRW with mac and cheese and apple-cinnamon pie. In 2025 orders opened October 16, the earliest of the group.
• Fairmont Ambassador Seoul (Yeouido) Home party package with a turkey or prime rib main, price not published, three days ahead.

Four Seasons sits this one out. Its 2025 to-go mains were ribeye and porchetta, and its festive buffets (179,000 to 215,000 KRW) center on prime rib and Christmas ham.

💡 TIP: The 10 percent early-bird discounts closed around November 15 and 16 in 2025, before Thanksgiving week. Order in the first ten days of November and have it delivered or picked up on the Saturday.

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Option 2: Book a Restaurant Dinner

The expat restaurants that run Thanksgiving menus are concentrated in Yongsan and Gangnam, they take reservations by Instagram DM or KakaoTalk as often as by phone, and they sell out. In 2025 Phillies' Saturday evening seating was gone by mid November. Prices and dates below are from 2025; the 2026 versions usually appear on each restaurant's Instagram in early November.

• Hearth (Gangnam, near Eonju-ro) Turkey dinner with apple-walnut stuffing, mash, pecan pie and one drink, 85,000 KRW (about $61) per person, two seatings a night over Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday. Tel 02-501-9257.
• Sauce (Yongsan, Noksapyeong-daero) Buttered sage turkey, roast beef, pumpkin pie and a mimosa, about 86,000 KRW, seatings Thursday through Sunday. Reserve via Instagram @sauceyongsan.
• 1842 (Itaewon, Twin Building) Czech restaurant with a Thanksgiving menu of slow-cooked turkey, cherry-smoked roast beef and maple sweet potato, 78,000 KRW (about $56), on three days around the holiday.
• Vineworks (Mapo, Dongmak-ro) Turkey with trimmings, pie and wine flights, 75,000 KRW (about $54).
• Phillies Pub (Haebangchon) All-you-can-eat buffet with beer, wine and soda included, 55,000 to 65,000 KRW (about $39 to $46), Saturday and Sunday seatings at 2 pm and 6 pm. Reserve by Instagram DM @philliespub.
• Lagniappe (Seongnam, Jeongja) Cajun turkey dinner, 79,000 KRW for adults and 59,000 KRW for children under 12, for readers south of the river. RSVP by KakaoTalk.
• Mike's Cabin (Hongdae) The potluck option. 10,000 KRW (about $7) if you bring a dish, 25,000 KRW if you do not, one drink included, Thanksgiving Thursday evening.
• Dragon Hill Lodge (USAG Yongsan) The biggest buffet in the city, and its 2026 events page already lists the Thanksgiving buffet for November 26. It is inside the US base and requires DoD ID or a sponsored guest pass, so it is for SOFA-status readers only. Its to-go dinner for eight to ten people was listed at $119.95.

Older Itaewon stalwarts like Suji's, Braai Republic and The Wolfhound did not advertise Thanksgiving menus in 2025. Do not assume they will.

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Option 3: Host It Yourself

This is where a Korean one-room fights back. Most have a two-burner gas or induction hob and no oven. Work around it.

The turkey

• Quarter turkey delivery FUEL Weekly delivered nationwide on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 2025: a turkey breast set at 149,000 KRW (about $106) or thigh and leg at 139,000 KRW, each serving two to three with mash, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. Reheat on the hob or in a microwave. The cleanest option for a small flat.
• Costco whole turkey Costco Korea stocks frozen whole turkeys only some years, Australian birds of 6 to 7 kg, and one sold for about 80,000 KRW in 2023. Check the Costco app or call the Yangjae or Gwangmyeong warehouse in early November, and remember a 6 kg bird needs a 30 litre oven and two days of thawing.
• Costco rotisserie chicken The honest substitute. Two of them feed six, and nobody at a Seoul potluck will complain.

The sides and the pie

• Costco pumpkin pie The 1.75 kg pie appears each autumn and was 14,990 KRW (about $10.70) when it launched in 2023. Expect a little more in 2026. It is dense and lightly spiced, closer to pumpkin porridge than a diner pie, and it feeds twelve.
• Foreign Food Mart (Itaewon, exit 3) Open daily 10 am to midnight at 137-8 Itaewon-dong, tel 02-793-0082, with an online shop that ships nationwide. The long-standing source for tinned cranberry sauce. Phone ahead for canned pumpkin and boxed stuffing.
• iHerb Ships to Korea by air with a 150 dollar and 9 kg limit per parcel. Delivery dates show at checkout. Order canned pumpkin, stuffing mix and gravy packets by the first week of November.
• Korean substitutes Danhobak (단호박, kabocha squash) roasts and mashes like pumpkin, Korean sweet potatoes caramelize better than American ones, and the kimjang-season napa cabbage makes a decent braised side.

The oven

A countertop oven is the one purchase worth making. On Coupang a 12 litre mini oven runs about 36,800 to 75,300 KRW (about $26 to $54), and an air-fryer combination with baking function about 82,400 KRW. These hold a 2 to 3 kg chicken or a turkey breast, not a whole turkey. Daiso does not sell ovens.

The potluck kit

Daiso covers the rest for about 1,000 KRW (about $0.70) per item: 10 paper plates, 10 paper bowls that hold gravy, or 20 sets of disposable cutlery. Foil roasting trays and chafing fuel are not stocked, so get those on Coupang. Our convenience stores and Daiso guide covers what else the shop can do.

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A Plan That Works for a Working Thursday

① Before November 1 Decide between hotel pickup, restaurant or potluck, and count heads. Hotel sets feed six to eight, so split the cost across friends.

② First week of November Book. Hotel early-bird discounts and the popular restaurant seatings close around mid November.

③ Thursday, November 26 Work as normal. If you want to mark the day itself, Mike's Cabin's potluck and the International Lutheran Church in Yongsan, which has held an open Thanksgiving evening dinner after its service for years, are the Thursday options. Check both in November.

④ Saturday, November 28 The real dinner. Pick up the turkey at noon, reheat the sides, open the Le Meridien wine.

⑤ Sunday Leftover turkey goes into juk (죽, rice porridge). Your Korean neighbors will approve.

Black Friday lands the next day. Our Black Friday in Korea guide covers what the Korean version actually offers.

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Koreans have a word for the warmth that builds between people who keep showing up for each other: jeong (정). A turkey eaten on the wrong day, in a flat with no oven, with friends from four countries, is about as jeong as it gets. The calendar does not care. Neither should you.

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Need a bigger kitchen for next year? Homes in Korea helps foreigners find furnished apartments and monthly rentals across Seoul, some of them with a real oven.