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Public Holidays in South Korea

Every statutory and substitute holiday, year by year, with the breaks they create.

2026 at a glance 🎯

Checking the next public holiday
All public holidays 👇
22 days
Days off on a weekday 🥳16 days2 fewer than last yearLost to a weekend 🥲6 days
Longest break ✈️
5 days
Seollal (Lunar New Year) · Feb 14 - 18
Breaks of 3 days or more 🔥
10
Runs that join up with a weekend

New this year 🎉

  • Labor DayMay 1 (Fri)

    Government offices and schools used to work through it. From 2026 they close too.

  • Constitution DayJuly 17 (Fri)

    Dropped from the holiday list in 2008 and brought back in 2026, after 18 years.

Best days to book off 🏖️

Book this offYou are offDays in a row
January 2 (Fri) 🔥
Bridge day		Jan 1 - 44 days
February 13 (Fri) 🔥Feb 13 - 186 days
Feb 19 - 20 (2 days of leave) 🔥
Bridge dayLong break		Feb 14 - 229 days
February 27 (Fri)Feb 27 - Mar 24 days
May 4 (Mon) 🔥
Bridge day		May 1 - 55 days
May 22 (Fri)May 22 - 254 days
July 16 (Thu)Jul 16 - 194 days
August 14 (Fri)Aug 14 - 174 days
Sep 21 - 23 (3 days of leave) 🔥
Bridge dayLong break		Sep 19 - 279 days
September 23 (Wed) 🔥Sep 23 - 275 days
October 2 (Fri)Oct 2 - 54 days
Oct 6 - 8 (3 days of leave) 🔥
Bridge dayLong break		Oct 3 - 119 days
October 8 (Thu)Oct 8 - 114 days
December 24 (Thu)Dec 24 - 274 days
December 31 (Thu)Dec 31 - Jan 34 days
- A bridge day is a lone working day with a holiday on one side and a weekend on the other.
- A long break runs 7 days or more.

2026 public holidays in Korea 📅

January

  • New Year's DayJanuary 1 (Thu)

February

  • Seollal (Lunar New Year)February 16 (Mon)
  • Seollal (Lunar New Year)February 17 (Tue)
  • Seollal (Lunar New Year)February 18 (Wed)
  • Seollal (Lunar New Year) break · Feb 14 - 185 days off

March

  • Independence Movement DayWeekendMarch 1 (Sun)
  • Independence Movement DaySubMarch 2 (Mon)
  • Independence Movement Day break · Feb 28 - Mar 23 days off

May

  • Labor DayMay 1 (Fri)
  • Children's DayMay 5 (Tue)
  • Buddha's BirthdayWeekendMay 24 (Sun)
  • Buddha's BirthdaySubMay 25 (Mon)
  • Labor Day break · May 1 - 33 days off
  • Buddha's Birthday break · May 23 - 253 days off

June

  • Local election dayJune 3 (Wed)
  • Memorial DayWeekendJune 6 (Sat)

July

  • Constitution DayJuly 17 (Fri)
  • Constitution Day break · Jul 17 - 193 days off

August

  • Liberation DayWeekendAugust 15 (Sat)
  • Liberation DaySubAugust 17 (Mon)
  • Liberation Day break · Aug 15 - 173 days off

September

  • Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)September 24 (Thu)
  • Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)September 25 (Fri)
  • Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)WeekendSeptember 26 (Sat)
  • Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) break · Sep 24 - 274 days off

October

  • National Foundation DayWeekendOctober 3 (Sat)
  • National Foundation DaySubOctober 5 (Mon)
  • Hangul DayOctober 9 (Fri)
  • National Foundation Day break · Oct 3 - 53 days off
  • Hangul Day break · Oct 9 - 113 days off

December

  • Christmas DayDecember 25 (Fri)
  • Christmas Day break · Dec 25 - 273 days off
Holiday dates come from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and are checked every day. A newly declared one-off holiday shows up here the next day.

Holiday count by year 📊

YearHolidaysOn a weekdayLost to a weekend
202622 days16 days6 days
202724 days15 days9 days
202819 days18 days1 days
202920 days16 days4 days
203019 days16 days3 days

More holidays does not mean more time off. Weekday holidays peak at 18 days in 2025, 2028 and bottom out at 13 in 2022, 2023.

Is this one a day off? 🤔

DateDay off?What it is
Armed Forces Day (October 1)NoNot a statutory holiday. It was declared a one-off holiday in 2024
Arbor Day (April 5)NoDropped from the holiday list in 2006
Hangul Day (October 9)YesWas dropped for years, then restored in 2013
Parents' Day (May 8)NoA commemorative day. Offices and schools run as normal
Christmas Eve (December 24)NoOnly Christmas Day itself is a holiday
Election daysYesNational election days are public holidays, so the dates change year to year

One-off holidays are declared by the government as they go, so they differ every year.

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Learn more 📚

Why the dates move every year

HolidaySet byRange it lands in
Seollal (설날)Lunar new year, plus the day before and afterLate January to late February
Buddha's Birthday8th day of the 4th lunar monthLate April to late May
Chuseok (추석)15th day of the 8th lunar month, plus the day either sideEarly September to early October
New Year's Day, Liberation Day, Christmas and the restA fixed date on the solar calendarThe same date every year

A lunar year runs about 354 days, roughly eleven days short of a solar year. So a lunar holiday slides earlier each year, then jumps back when a leap month is added.

Substitute holidays, the day you get back

What happensWhat you get
A holiday lands on a Saturday or SundayThe next working day is given back as a substitute holiday
Two holidays land on the same dayOne extra working day is given back
New Year's Day or Memorial Day lands on a weekendNothing is given back. These two are excluded

Substitute holidays became law in 2021 and were widened in 2023. Days marked with the substitute badge in the list below are the ones that were moved.

This is why a year with more holidays is not always a year with more days off. Substitute days raise the count without adding a new occasion.

What actually closes

PlaceOn a public holiday
Banks, post offices, government officesClosed. Immigration and district offices too
Hospitals and clinicsClosed, apart from emergency rooms and on-duty pharmacies
Shops, cafes, department storesMostly open. Convenience stores never close
Palaces and museumsUsually open, and often free on the big holidays
Trains, buses, motorwaysRunning, but packed. Seollal and Chuseok are the two worst travel weeks of the year

Around Seollal and Chuseok many family-run restaurants shut for the whole break. Book KTX tickets the moment the booking window opens.

FAQ ❓

Around fifteen occasions a year, which becomes a larger number of dates once substitute days are added. What matters more is how many fall on a weekday, because those are the ones that actually give you a day off. That figure moves by several days from year to year.
Both are set by the lunar calendar, which runs about eleven days shorter than the solar one. Seollal is lunar new year and Chuseok is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, so their solar dates slide earlier each year and jump back when a leap month is added. Buddha's Birthday moves for the same reason.
When a public holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, the next working day is given back instead. The rule became law in 2021 and was widened in 2023 to cover most holidays. New Year's Day and Memorial Day are the two exceptions, so nothing is given back for those.
Banks, post offices, government offices and most clinics close. Shops, cafes and department stores mostly stay open, and convenience stores never close. Palaces and museums usually open, and are often free on the bigger holidays.
Seollal and Chuseok. Millions of people travel to their home towns on the same two or three days, motorways slow to a crawl, and KTX tickets sell out the moment booking opens. Many family-run restaurants close for the whole break.
Yes. National election days are public holidays, which is why some years carry an extra day off that does not repeat. Local, parliamentary and presidential elections all run on their own cycles.
A one-off day off declared by the government, usually to bridge a gap and stretch a break. It is announced as it happens rather than being fixed in law, so it cannot be predicted from a calendar. Our list is checked daily and picks up a new one the next day.

Sources 🌐