South Korea Public Holidays
South Korea has 12 national public holidays in 2026, observed across the whole country. Over the years covered here the calendar draws on 12 recurring holidays. 9 sit on the same calendar date every year, while 3 move (Lunisolar calendar). The same calendar applies nationwide, with no separate regional public holidays in this dataset.
Which public holidays does South Korea have?
Every recurring national public holiday, how its date is decided, and the date it lands on in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Dates are computed from the rule, so Easter-linked and moon-linked holidays are correct for each individual year.
| Holiday | How the date is set | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day์ ์ | Same date every year | Jan 1 | Jan 1 | Jan 1 |
| Korean New Year์ค๋ | Lunisolar calendar | Jan 29 | Feb 17 | Feb 7 |
| Independence Movement Day3ยท1์ | Same date every year | Mar 1 | Mar 1 | Mar 1 |
| Buddha's Birthday์๊ฐํ์ ์ผ | Lunisolar calendar | May 5 | May 24 | May 13 |
| Children's Day์ด๋ฆฐ์ด๋ | Same date every year | May 5 | May 5 | May 5 |
| Memorial Dayํ์ถฉ์ผ | Same date every year | Jun 6 | Jun 6 | Jun 6 |
| Constitution Day์ ํ์ | Same date every year | not observed | Jul 17 | Jul 17 |
| Liberation Day๊ด๋ณต์ | Same date every year | Aug 15 | Aug 15 | Aug 15 |
| Korean Thanksgiving์ถ์ | Lunisolar calendar | Oct 5 | Sep 24 | Sep 14 |
| National Foundation Day๊ฐ์ฒ์ | Same date every year | Oct 3 | Oct 3 | Oct 3 |
| Hangul Dayํ๊ธ๋ | Same date every year | Oct 9 | Oct 9 | Oct 9 |
| Christmas Day๊ธฐ๋ ํ์ ์ผ | Same date every year | Dec 25 | Dec 25 | Dec 25 |
Which South Korean holidays are national and which are regional?
The 12 holidays above are national: they apply across South Korea rather than in one area only. This dataset holds no separate sub-national calendar for South Korea, so there is no regional layer to add. Individual towns and employers can still mark local days that are not national public holidays, and those are not covered here.
Which holidays move each year, and why?
3 of the 12 recurring holidays land on a different date each year. Here is the rule behind each group.
Same date every year (9)
The holiday is tied to one calendar date, so it lands on a different weekday each year but never changes date. In South Korea this covers New Year's Day, Independence Movement Day, Children's Day, Memorial Day and Constitution Day, plus 4 more.
Lunisolar calendar (3)
The date follows a lunisolar calendar (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese or Bengali), where months track the moon and are realigned to the solar year, so the Gregorian date moves within a window of several weeks. In South Korea this covers Korean New Year, Buddha's Birthday and Korean Thanksgiving.
When is the next public holiday in South Korea?
The next 4 holidays on the 2026 calendar.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| Korean Thanksgiving | September 24 to 26, 2026 | Thursday |
| National Foundation Day | October 3, 2026 | SaturdayWeekend |
| Hangul Day | October 9, 2026 | Friday |
| Christmas Day | December 25, 2026 | Friday |
South Korea public holiday calendars by year
Open a year for the full table with dates, weekdays and long-weekend counts.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does South Korea have?
South Korea has 12 national public holidays in 2026 and 12 in 2027. The total can differ from year to year because holidays that fall on a weekend sometimes gain a substitute day, and because moon-based and Easter-based dates occasionally shift in or out of a calendar year.
Which South Korean public holidays fall on the same date every year?
9 of them: New Year's Day (January 1), Independence Movement Day (March 1), Children's Day (May 5), Memorial Day (June 6), Constitution Day (July 17) and Liberation Day (August 15), plus 3 more. These are pinned to a calendar date, so only the weekday changes from year to year.
Which public holidays in South Korea change date each year?
3 do: Korean New Year, Buddha's Birthday and Korean Thanksgiving. The reasons are lunisolar calendar, so the Gregorian date has to be recalculated for every year rather than copied forward.
Are there regional public holidays in South Korea?
This dataset has no separate regional calendar for South Korea, so the national public holidays listed here apply countrywide. Individual towns can still observe local days that are not public holidays nationally.
What happens when a public holiday in South Korea falls on a weekend?
This dataset records no substitute days for South Korea, so every date listed here is the holiday itself rather than a replacement weekday. That is not the same as saying none is granted: a number of countries move a weekend holiday onto a working day under national labour law without that rule being captured in the underlying data, so check a local source whenever a holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday.
How to use this page
Public holidays shape the working year in South Korea, closing many offices, banks and public services and shifting the rhythm of travel and shopping. If you are scheduling a delivery, a launch or a meeting with a South Korean team, the table at the top is the quickest check: it shows every recurring holiday side by side across 2025, 2026 and 2027, so you can see at a glance which dates are stable and which need looking up again next year. Where a holiday falls on a weekend and is taken on another day, it appears once, on the day off, with its calendar date beside it, so the totals here match the official ones rather than double counting.
For a single year with weekday counts and long weekends, open the year page for 2025, 2026 or 2027. To compare countries in one year, the 2026 worldwide overview lists every country we cover side by side. Dates come from the open date-holidays dataset and are recalculated per year from each holiday's rule. Always confirm official dates with a local authority before you commit to travel or contracts.