Korean Public Holidays 2025–2030: Every Date and Substitute Day

10-second answer

The short answer

South Korea has 13 named public holidays (공휴일, gonghyuil) covering 17 days a year, plus election days and substitute holidays. Three move with the lunar calendar: 설날 (Seollal, Lunar New Year), 부처님 오신 날 (bucheonim osin nal, Buddha's Birthday) and 추석 (Chuseok). When most holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the next working day becomes a substitute day off (대체공휴일, daechegonghyuil). Two days joined the list in 2026: Labor Day (May 1) and 제헌절 (jeheonjeol, Constitution Day, July 17).

2025 Public Holidays (Last Year)

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Note
January 1	Wed	신정 — New Year's Day
January 27	Mon	임시공휴일 — One-off extra holiday	Added by the government to lengthen the Seollal break
January 28–30	Tue–Thu	설날 — Seollal (Lunar New Year)	Seollal itself was Jan 29
March 1	Sat	삼일절 — Independence Movement Day	Fell on a Saturday
March 3	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 삼일절
May 5	Mon	어린이날 — Children's Day + 부처님 오신 날 — Buddha's Birthday	Both on the same day
May 6	Tue	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For the overlap
June 3	Tue	대통령 선거 — Presidential election	Early election, made a day off
June 6	Fri	현충일 — Memorial Day
August 15	Fri	광복절 — Liberation Day
October 3	Fri	개천절 — National Foundation Day
October 5–7	Sun–Tue	추석 — Chuseok	Chuseok itself was Oct 6
October 8	Wed	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For the first Chuseok day falling on a Sunday
October 9	Thu	한글날 — Hangul Day
December 25	Thu	기독탄신일 — Christmas Day

In 2025, Labor Day (May 1) and 제헌절 (July 17) were not yet public holidays — Labor Day was a paid day off for most private-sector employees only. Early October 2025 gave most workers seven days off in a row: 개천절 on Friday, the weekend, Chuseok, its substitute Wednesday and 한글날 on Thursday.

2026 Public Holidays

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Note
January 1	Thu	신정 — New Year's Day
February 16–18	Mon–Wed	설날 — Seollal (Lunar New Year)	Seollal itself is Feb 17
March 1	Sun	삼일절 — Independence Movement Day	Falls on a Sunday
March 2	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 삼일절
May 1	Fri	근로자의 날 (노동절) — Labor Day	First year as a public holiday
May 5	Tue	어린이날 — Children's Day
May 24	Sun	부처님 오신 날 — Buddha's Birthday	Falls on a Sunday
May 25	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For Buddha's Birthday
June 3	Wed	지방선거 — Local elections	Election day off
June 6	Sat	현충일 — Memorial Day	No substitute — 현충일 never gets one
July 17	Fri	제헌절 — Constitution Day	Public holiday again from 2026
August 15	Sat	광복절 — Liberation Day	Falls on a Saturday
August 17	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 광복절
September 24–26	Thu–Sat	추석 — Chuseok	Chuseok itself is Sep 25; no substitute for the Saturday
October 3	Sat	개천절 — National Foundation Day	Falls on a Saturday
October 5	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 개천절
October 9	Fri	한글날 — Hangul Day
December 25	Fri	기독탄신일 — Christmas Day

2027 Public Holidays

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Note
January 1	Fri	신정 — New Year's Day
February 6–8	Sat–Mon	설날 — Seollal (Lunar New Year)	Seollal itself is Sunday, Feb 7
February 9	Tue	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For Seollal falling on a Sunday
March 1	Mon	삼일절 — Independence Movement Day
May 1	Sat	근로자의 날 (노동절) — Labor Day	Falls on a Saturday
May 3	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 노동절
May 5	Wed	어린이날 — Children's Day
May 13	Thu	부처님 오신 날 — Buddha's Birthday
June 6	Sun	현충일 — Memorial Day	No substitute
July 17	Sat	제헌절 — Constitution Day	Falls on a Saturday
July 19	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 제헌절
August 15	Sun	광복절 — Liberation Day	Falls on a Sunday
August 16	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 광복절
September 14–16	Tue–Thu	추석 — Chuseok	Chuseok itself is Sep 15
October 3	Sun	개천절 — National Foundation Day	Falls on a Sunday
October 4	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 개천절
October 9	Sat	한글날 — Hangul Day	Falls on a Saturday
October 11	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For 한글날
December 25	Sat	기독탄신일 — Christmas Day	Falls on a Saturday
December 27	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	For Christmas

2027 is a year of Mondays off: six holidays land on a Saturday or Sunday and get a Monday in return (only 현충일 goes without). Add Seollal's substitute Tuesday, and the official calendar counts ten stretches of three or more days off in a row for people who work Monday to Friday.

2028 Public Holidays

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Note
January 1	Sat	신정 — New Year's Day	No substitute — 신정 never gets one
January 26–28	Wed–Fri	설날 — Seollal (Lunar New Year)	Seollal itself is Jan 27
March 1	Wed	삼일절 — Independence Movement Day
April 12	Wed	국회의원 선거 — National Assembly election	Expected — set by the election law
May 1	Mon	근로자의 날 (노동절) — Labor Day
May 2	Tue	부처님 오신 날 — Buddha's Birthday	Right after Labor Day
May 5	Fri	어린이날 — Children's Day
June 6	Tue	현충일 — Memorial Day
July 17	Mon	제헌절 — Constitution Day
August 15	Tue	광복절 — Liberation Day
October 2–4	Mon–Wed	추석 — Chuseok	Chuseok itself is Oct 3 — the same day as 개천절
October 3	Tue	개천절 — National Foundation Day	Overlaps Chuseok
October 5	Thu	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	Expected — for the Chuseok–개천절 overlap
October 9	Mon	한글날 — Hangul Day
December 25	Mon	기독탄신일 — Christmas Day

2029 Public Holidays (Expected)

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Note
January 1	Mon	신정 — New Year's Day
February 12–14	Mon–Wed	설날 — Seollal (Lunar New Year)	Seollal itself is Feb 13
March 1	Thu	삼일절 — Independence Movement Day
May 1	Tue	근로자의 날 (노동절) — Labor Day
May 5	Sat	어린이날 — Children's Day	Falls on a Saturday
May 7	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	Expected — for 어린이날
May 20	Sun	부처님 오신 날 — Buddha's Birthday	Falls on a Sunday
May 21	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	Expected — for Buddha's Birthday
June 6	Wed	현충일 — Memorial Day
July 17	Tue	제헌절 — Constitution Day
August 15	Wed	광복절 — Liberation Day
September 21–23	Fri–Sun	추석 — Chuseok	Chuseok itself is Saturday, Sep 22
September 24	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	Expected — for the last Chuseok day falling on a Sunday
October 3	Wed	개천절 — National Foundation Day
October 9	Tue	한글날 — Hangul Day
December 25	Tue	기독탄신일 — Christmas Day

2029 has no nationwide election, and three holidays land on a weekend — 어린이날, Buddha's Birthday and the last day of Chuseok — so expect three Mondays off in return.

2030 Public Holidays (Expected)

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Note
January 1	Tue	신정 — New Year's Day
February 2–4	Sat–Mon	설날 — Seollal (Lunar New Year)	Seollal itself is Sunday, Feb 3
February 5	Tue	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	Expected — for Seollal falling on a Sunday
March 1	Fri	삼일절 — Independence Movement Day
March 27	Wed	대통령 선거 — Presidential election	Expected — date follows the current election law
May 1	Wed	근로자의 날 (노동절) — Labor Day
May 5	Sun	어린이날 — Children's Day	Falls on a Sunday
May 6	Mon	대체공휴일 — Substitute holiday	Expected — for 어린이날
May 9	Thu	부처님 오신 날 — Buddha's Birthday
June 6	Thu	현충일 — Memorial Day
June 12	Wed	지방선거 — Local elections	Expected — pushed back a week because June 6 is next to the usual date
July 17	Wed	제헌절 — Constitution Day
August 15	Thu	광복절 — Liberation Day
September 11–13	Wed–Fri	추석 — Chuseok	Chuseok itself is Sep 12
October 3	Thu	개천절 — National Foundation Day
October 9	Wed	한글날 — Hangul Day
December 25	Wed	기독탄신일 — Christmas Day

How sure are these? The dates of 설날, 부처님 오신 날 and 추석 come from the official lunar calendar of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), and the fixed-date holidays never move, so those are certain. Substitute holidays and election days for 2028–2030 are expected — worked out from the current rules. The official calendar (월력요항) for each year is published around June of the year before, so the 2028 calendar comes out in mid-2027, and a one-off extra holiday (임시공휴일) can always be added later.

How Substitute Holidays Work

Here's a detail that surprises learners: under Korean law, every Sunday is itself a public holiday, but Saturday is not. That's why the rules treat the two days differently.

Saturday or Sunday → next weekday off: 삼일절, 제헌절, 광복절, 개천절, 한글날, Buddha's Birthday, Labor Day, Children's Day and Christmas.
Sunday only → next weekday off: the three days of 설날 and 추석. A Saturday inside the holiday doesn't count, which is why 2026's Chuseok (Thursday–Saturday) got no extra day, while 2029's (Friday–Sunday) is expected to get one.
Two holidays on the same weekday → one extra day off, as with Chuseok and 개천절 in 2028.
Never: 신정 (January 1), 현충일 (June 6) and election days don't get substitutes.

What Each Holiday Means

신정 (sinjeong) — January 1. A quiet day off; for most families the big New Year celebration is Seollal. See how to say Happy New Year in Korean.
설날 (seollal) — Lunar New Year: hometown visits, the formal New Year's bow and rice cake soup. Full guide: What Is Seollal?
삼일절 (samiljeol) — the March 1st Movement of 1919, a nationwide protest for independence from Japanese colonial rule.
근로자의 날 (geullojaui nal) — Labor Day. Its legal name is now 노동절 (nodongjeol), but most people still call it 근로자의 날. For decades it was a paid day off only for private-sector employees, and from 2026 it's a public holiday for everyone, including civil servants and teachers.
어린이날 (eorininal) — Children's Day: family outings, gifts and packed amusement parks.
부처님 오신 날 (bucheonim osin nal) — Buddha's Birthday, the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, when temples hang colorful lotus lanterns.
현충일 (hyeonchungil) — Memorial Day, honoring those who died for the country. A siren sounds at 10 a.m. for a minute of silence.
제헌절 (jeheonjeol) — Constitution Day, marking the first constitution in 1948. It stopped being a day off in 2008 and returned as one in 2026.
광복절 (gwangbokjeol) — Liberation Day, the end of Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945.
추석 (chuseok) — the harvest holiday, with 송편 and the year's biggest travel rush. Full guide: What Is Chuseok?
개천절 (gaecheonjeol) — National Foundation Day, celebrating the legendary founding of the first Korean kingdom by 단군 (Dangun).
한글날 (hangeullal, pronounced 한글랄) — Hangul Day, celebrating the Korean alphabet. First marked in 1926 as 가갸날, it has been a public holiday again since 2013.
기독탄신일 (gidoktansinil), usually called 성탄절 or 크리스마스 — a day off that feels more like a date night than a family holiday. See Christmas in Korea.
선거일 (seongeoil) — election day. Regularly scheduled national elections are days off so people can vote: the local elections (June 3, 2026), the National Assembly election (April 12, 2028) and, under the current election law, the presidential election (March 27, 2030) and local elections (June 12, 2030). The early presidential election of June 3, 2025 was also made a day off.

국경일 vs 공휴일

국경일 (gukgyeongil, "national days") are five days set by their own law: 삼일절, 제헌절, 광복절, 개천절 and 한글날. 공휴일 (gonghyuil) is the wider list of days off. Since 2026, all five 국경일 are also 공휴일 — 제헌절 had been a 국경일 without the day off from 2008 to 2025. The reverse isn't true: 설날, 추석, 어린이날 and 현충일 are days off but not 국경일.

Useful Korean for Holidays

다음 주 월요일은 빨간 날이에요.

Daeum ju woryoireun ppalgan narieyo.

Next Monday is a day off.

Literally: Next week's Monday is a red day.

빨간 날 (ppalgan nal) — Korean calendars print holidays in red, so any day off is a "red day."

이번 연휴에 뭐 해요?

Ibeon yeonhyue mwo haeyo?

What are you doing this long weekend?

연휴 (yeonhyu) — consecutive days off, like a long weekend or a holiday stretch.

월요일은 대체공휴일이라서 쉬어요.

Woryoireun daechegonghyuiriraseo swieoyo.

Monday is a substitute holiday, so I'm off.

대체공휴일 (daechegonghyuil) — the substitute day off. In conversation people often shorten it to 대체휴일.

근로자의 날에 회사 쉬어요?

Geullojaui nare hoesa swieoyo?

Is your company closed on Labor Day?

Literally: On Labor Day, does (your) company rest?

The official name is now 노동절, but in conversation most people still say 근로자의 날.

설 연휴에 고향에 내려가요.

Seol yeonhyue gohyange naeryeogayo.

I'm going back to my hometown over the Seollal holiday.

설 (seol) is the short form of 설날. 내려가다 ("go down") is the usual verb for heading from Seoul to a hometown.

올해 10월은 황금연휴예요.

Olhae siworeun hwanggeumyeonhyuyeyo.

This October has a golden holiday stretch.

황금연휴 (hwanggeumyeonhyu) — "golden holiday," an unusually long run of days off.

명절 잘 보내세요!

Myeongjeol jal bonaeseyo!

Have a good holiday!

명절 (myeongjeol) means the traditional holidays — above all 설날 and 추석. You can also say 설 잘 보내세요 or 추석 잘 보내세요.

Reading holiday dates out loud uses Sino-Korean numbers plus 월 and 일 — for example 10월 9일 is 시월 구일 (siwol guil), with the irregular 시월 for October. The Korean months and dates guide covers both traps, and Korean days of the week covers 월요일 through 일요일.

Traveling Over a Holiday

Plan around the red days

On public holidays, banks, post offices and government offices close, so sort out things like opening a bank account on a regular weekday. Convenience stores, cafés and most tourist sites stay open. The exception is 설날 and 추석: millions travel to their hometowns at once, trains and express buses sell out early, highways jam, and some shops and small family-run restaurants close for a day or two. If you're visiting during either one, book long-distance tickets as early as you can.

Mini Quiz

1. Which three Korean public holidays follow the lunar calendar?
2. Chuseok 2026 ran Thursday to Saturday. Why was there no substitute holiday?
3. What does 빨간 날 mean?
4. Which of these is a 국경일 (national day) that became a public day off again in 2026?

Korean Public Holidays 2025–2030: Dates and What Each Day Means