Full 2026 Public Holiday Calendar
South Korea observes 15 or so public holidays each year, a mix of fixed-date and lunar-calendar dates. The two biggest are Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) — three-day holidays when much of the country travels home to family and Seoul briefly empties out. Here is the full 2026 schedule.
| Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|
| Jan 1 (Thu) | New Year's Day | Single day, most businesses closed |
| Feb 16-18 (Mon-Wed) | Seollal (Lunar New Year) | Three-day holiday, massive travel |
| Mar 1 (Sun) | Samiljeol (Independence Movement Day) | Commemorates 1919 independence protests |
| May 5 (Tue) | Children's Day | Family parks packed, book in advance |
| May 24 (Sun) | Buddha's Birthday | Temples lit with lanterns, free entry at many |
| Jun 6 (Sat) | Memorial Day | Honors fallen soldiers, subdued tone |
| Aug 15 (Sat) | Liberation Day | Marks end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945 |
| Sep 24-26 (Thu-Sat) | Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) | Three-day harvest holiday, massive travel |
| Oct 3 (Sat) | National Foundation Day | Gaecheonjeol, legendary founding of Korea |
| Oct 9 (Fri) | Hangul Day | Celebrates the Korean alphabet |
| Dec 25 (Fri) | Christmas | Widely celebrated but low-key compared to the West |
Dates for Seollal, Chuseok, and Buddha's Birthday follow the lunar calendar and shift each year. Dates shown above are the 2026 dates only. Substitute holidays are added if a public holiday falls on a weekend, which can extend long weekends.
The Big Two — Seollal and Chuseok
Seollal (Feb 16-18, 2026) is Korea's Lunar New Year, the most important family holiday of the year. Koreans travel home to their parents or grandparents, perform ancestral rites (charye), eat tteokguk (rice cake soup), and play traditional games. In Seoul, many shops, restaurants, and even convenience stores close for at least one day. Trains, buses, and flights out of the city sell out weeks in advance.
Chuseok (Sep 24-26, 2026) is often called Korean Thanksgiving, a harvest festival where families share songpyeon rice cakes, visit ancestral tombs, and gather for big meals. Like Seollal, intercity travel is chaotic — expressways become parking lots, KTX trains book out the moment tickets go on sale, and Seoul itself becomes strangely peaceful as residents leave.
If you are visiting Korea during Seollal or Chuseok, book your KTX trains the instant tickets open (about one month in advance). Last-minute domestic travel is extremely difficult on these weekends.
Seollal and Chuseok are actually great times to see Seoul's palaces and cultural sites. Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and the National Folk Museum offer free admission and traditional games on the main holiday days.
Other Holidays Worth Knowing
Beyond the big two, several other dates are worth planning around. Buddha's Birthday in May is one of the most visually stunning holidays of the year, with colored paper lanterns hung at every temple in the country and a huge lantern parade (Yeondeunghoe) through central Seoul the weekend before. Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul is the most famous place to experience it.
- Independence Movement Day (Mar 1) — flags, short ceremonies at Tapgol Park
- Children's Day (May 5) — Everland, Lotte World, zoos are packed — avoid if possible
- Buddha's Birthday (May 24) — lantern festivals at every major temple
- Memorial Day (Jun 6) — ceremonies at Seoul National Cemetery
- Liberation Day (Aug 15) — flag displays, patriotic ceremonies
- Hangul Day (Oct 9) — celebrates the Korean alphabet, cultural events at Gwanghwamun
- Christmas (Dec 25) — more romantic than family-oriented in Korea, couples' holiday
Korea does not observe Thanksgiving, Easter, or most Western holidays as public holidays. International banks and embassies may still close on their home-country holidays.
Travel Tips Around Korean Holidays
Timing your Korea trip around — or deliberately during — a holiday can dramatically change your experience. Avoid Seollal and Chuseok if you want to travel between cities, but embrace them if you want an empty Seoul. Festival-style holidays like Buddha's Birthday and Hangul Day are the opposite: that is when you want to be in the capital.
- Book KTX tickets 30 days ahead for any travel during Seollal or Chuseok
- Expect 2-3x normal drive times on expressways during major holidays
- Many small restaurants close for 1-2 days around Seollal and Chuseok
- Big department stores and Lotte/Shinsegae stay open on most holidays
- National palaces offer free entry on Seollal, Chuseok, and Buddha's Birthday
- Hotel prices in Seoul actually dip on Seollal/Chuseok as locals leave the city
- Popular tourist spots (Nami Island, Everland) are slammed on Children's Day
If you are already in Korea during Chuseok, hop on a late-night KTX heading back into Seoul rather than out of it. Return traffic starts mid-afternoon on the final day, so reverse-commuting toward the city is surprisingly easy and cheap.
Full 2026 Public Holiday Calendar
South Korea observes 15 or so public holidays each year, a mix of fixed-date and lunar-calendar dates. The two biggest are Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) — three-day holidays when much of the country travels home to family and Seoul briefly empties out. Here is the full 2026 schedule.
| Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|
| Jan 1 (Thu) | New Year's Day | Single day, most businesses closed |
| Feb 16-18 (Mon-Wed) | Seollal (Lunar New Year) | Three-day holiday, massive travel |
| Mar 1 (Sun) | Samiljeol (Independence Movement Day) | Commemorates 1919 independence protests |
| May 5 (Tue) | Children's Day | Family parks packed, book in advance |
| May 24 (Sun) | Buddha's Birthday | Temples lit with lanterns, free entry at many |
| Jun 6 (Sat) | Memorial Day | Honors fallen soldiers, subdued tone |
| Aug 15 (Sat) | Liberation Day | Marks end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945 |
| Sep 24-26 (Thu-Sat) | Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) | Three-day harvest holiday, massive travel |
| Oct 3 (Sat) | National Foundation Day | Gaecheonjeol, legendary founding of Korea |
| Oct 9 (Fri) | Hangul Day | Celebrates the Korean alphabet |
| Dec 25 (Fri) | Christmas | Widely celebrated but low-key compared to the West |
Dates for Seollal, Chuseok, and Buddha's Birthday follow the lunar calendar and shift each year. Dates shown above are the 2026 dates only. Substitute holidays are added if a public holiday falls on a weekend, which can extend long weekends.
The Big Two — Seollal and Chuseok
Seollal (Feb 16-18, 2026) is Korea's Lunar New Year, the most important family holiday of the year. Koreans travel home to their parents or grandparents, perform ancestral rites (charye), eat tteokguk (rice cake soup), and play traditional games. In Seoul, many shops, restaurants, and even convenience stores close for at least one day. Trains, buses, and flights out of the city sell out weeks in advance.
Chuseok (Sep 24-26, 2026) is often called Korean Thanksgiving, a harvest festival where families share songpyeon rice cakes, visit ancestral tombs, and gather for big meals. Like Seollal, intercity travel is chaotic — expressways become parking lots, KTX trains book out the moment tickets go on sale, and Seoul itself becomes strangely peaceful as residents leave.
If you are visiting Korea during Seollal or Chuseok, book your KTX trains the instant tickets open (about one month in advance). Last-minute domestic travel is extremely difficult on these weekends.
Seollal and Chuseok are actually great times to see Seoul's palaces and cultural sites. Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and the National Folk Museum offer free admission and traditional games on the main holiday days.
Other Holidays Worth Knowing
Beyond the big two, several other dates are worth planning around. Buddha's Birthday in May is one of the most visually stunning holidays of the year, with colored paper lanterns hung at every temple in the country and a huge lantern parade (Yeondeunghoe) through central Seoul the weekend before. Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul is the most famous place to experience it.
- Independence Movement Day (Mar 1) — flags, short ceremonies at Tapgol Park
- Children's Day (May 5) — Everland, Lotte World, zoos are packed — avoid if possible
- Buddha's Birthday (May 24) — lantern festivals at every major temple
- Memorial Day (Jun 6) — ceremonies at Seoul National Cemetery
- Liberation Day (Aug 15) — flag displays, patriotic ceremonies
- Hangul Day (Oct 9) — celebrates the Korean alphabet, cultural events at Gwanghwamun
- Christmas (Dec 25) — more romantic than family-oriented in Korea, couples' holiday
Korea does not observe Thanksgiving, Easter, or most Western holidays as public holidays. International banks and embassies may still close on their home-country holidays.
Travel Tips Around Korean Holidays
Timing your Korea trip around — or deliberately during — a holiday can dramatically change your experience. Avoid Seollal and Chuseok if you want to travel between cities, but embrace them if you want an empty Seoul. Festival-style holidays like Buddha's Birthday and Hangul Day are the opposite: that is when you want to be in the capital.
- Book KTX tickets 30 days ahead for any travel during Seollal or Chuseok
- Expect 2-3x normal drive times on expressways during major holidays
- Many small restaurants close for 1-2 days around Seollal and Chuseok
- Big department stores and Lotte/Shinsegae stay open on most holidays
- National palaces offer free entry on Seollal, Chuseok, and Buddha's Birthday
- Hotel prices in Seoul actually dip on Seollal/Chuseok as locals leave the city
- Popular tourist spots (Nami Island, Everland) are slammed on Children's Day
If you are already in Korea during Chuseok, hop on a late-night KTX heading back into Seoul rather than out of it. Return traffic starts mid-afternoon on the final day, so reverse-commuting toward the city is surprisingly easy and cheap.