Guide to Korean Public Holidays & Substitute Holidays

Korean public holidays are governed by the Regulations on Holidays of Government Offices issued by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Since 2022, the expanded substitute-holiday ruleautomatically adds a weekday off whenever major holidays fall on a Sunday or overlap with other holidays.

15 Statutory Holidays

• New Year's Day (January 1)
• Lunar New Year (Seollal) — 3 days
• Independence Movement Day (March 1)
• Children's Day (May 5)
• Buddha's Birthday (lunar April 8)
• Memorial Day (June 6)
• Liberation Day (August 15)
• Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) — 3 days
• National Foundation Day (October 3)
• Hangul Day (October 9)
• Christmas Day (December 25)
• Election days under the Public Official Election Act

Substitute Holiday Rules (as of 2024)

1. Children's Day: substitute applies to both Saturday and Sunday.
2. March 1, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, Hangul Day: substitute if they fall on a Sunday (expanded in 2021).
3. Seollal & Chuseok 3-day holidays: extended if any day overlaps with a Sunday or another holiday.
4. Buddha's Birthday & Christmas: substitute if they fall on a Sunday or another holiday (expanded in 2023).

Memorial Day and New Year's Day are not eligible for substitute holidays.

Temporary Holidays

Temporary holidays may be declared by presidential decree. Recent examples: August 14, 2015 (70th Liberation Anniversary), October 2, 2023 (bridging Chuseok), October 1, 2024 (Armed Forces Day). This site updates within 24 hours of any new declaration.

Golden Week Strategies

When a public holiday falls on Tuesday or Thursday, taking annual leave on the adjacent Monday or Friday yields a 4–5 day break. Combined with weekends, Seollal and Chuseok can produce breaks of up to 9–10 days in some years. See the "Top Golden Weeks" section on the home page for the best combinations per year.