World’s longest daily commute makes South Koreans exhausted

Lee Han-soo, 34, an information technology engineer, spends nearly two and a half hours a day traveling from his home at Namhansanseong Station to his office near Hongik University in Seoul, The Korean Herald newspaper said.

"Although I’m used to it now, I’m completely drained by the time I get home," it quoted him as saying. "I just grab something to eat and go straight to bed."

Lee’s situation is common in that country. A study published in 2025 by the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain and McGill University in Canada surveyed 43 countries and found South Korea has the world’s longest daily commute.

To put its 108 minutes in perspective, the comparable figures 81 minutes for the U.S., 87 minutes for the U.K. and 77 minutes for Japan, and more than twice that of the bottom country on the list, Morocco (48 minutes).

Commuters in a subway in Seoul, March 2025. Photo by AFP

The long daily commute is causing a mental health crisis, experts said.

A 2023 survey of more than 24,000 office workers by Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul found that people who travel more than 60 minutes a day are more likely to feel lonely, Korea Times said.

They also reported feeling 49% more isolated in family relationships and 36% more isolated socially.

The survey also found that long-distance drivers face greater psychological stress than public transport users because driving alone in heavy traffic increases the feeling of isolation.

Long travel times were also found to affect physical health.

Cho Soo-hyun, a family medicine professor at Chung-Ang University Hospital, said sitting for too long on trains or buses reduces physical activity, encourages late dinners, and disrupts sleep.

"These factors can cause weight gain, reduced exercise capacity and hypertension."

A 14-year study by Umea University in Sweden found that women with long commutes had a 54% higher risk of death than those with shorter travel distances.

With high housing costs in Seoul and limited flexibility in workplace location, experts advise workers to use commuting time to relax rather than work and maintain good posture to prevent musculoskeletal problems.

Many are also calling on the government to improve transport infrastructure and for companies to offer flexible work arrangements to reduce the strain of daily commutes.