Is South Korea safe in 2026?
South Korea scores 80.2/100 on the live safety index — generally safe. The main pressure on the score comes from military conflict, crime, natural disasters. The 24-hour AI forecast calls the trend stable (projected 78.3/100).
80.2 /100generally safe
30-day trend
South Korea's score fell by −4.7 over the last 22 days (84.9 → 80.2).
Risk factors
Open the interactive country card to inspect current factors. For historical factor data and integrations, see the customer API.
Conflict & War
9.9/34.1 safety points.
Nuclear threats & incidents
Nuclear index: 20.0/100. Does not affect the Safety Index.
Our index tracks nuclear weapons development, tests, radiation incidents and threats to use nuclear weapons. It also includes explicitly threatened countries. This is our own index, not a probability of nuclear war.
Official travel advisory
1 Exercise Normal Precautions
The U.S. State Department places South Korea at Level 1 — Exercise Normal Precautions. Our live index reads 80.2/100. That advisory was last revised May 28, 2025, 506 days ago; the index above is recomputed continuously from current reporting.
Source: U.S. Department of State, revised May 28, 2025. Levels run 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel). This page is not travel advice.
Latest recorded events
- South Korea’s offender tracking under scrutiny after stabbing spree exposes ‘serious gaps’
- Tech market sell-off deepens amid fears over US inflation and AI debt
- ‘I did it to get attention’, says man who stabbed 8 people at Incheon mall
- At Least 6 Injured in Stabbing in South Korea
- South Korea Recalls Ambassador, Demands Public Apology From Ukraine
- South Korea's KOSPI triggers circuit breaker in tech-led selloff
24-hour forecast
Trend: stable · projected score 78.3/100 (generated )
A fresh mass stabbing and scrutiny of offender tracking warrant a near-term decline.
Compared with nearby countries
| Country | Score | 0–100 | vs South Korea |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 80.2 | — | |
| North Korea | 45.6 | −34.6 | |
| Japan | 90.1 | +9.9 | |
| Taiwan | 84.9 | +4.7 | |
| Hong Kong | 82.8 | +2.6 | |
| Macao | 88.8 | +8.6 |