Public Holidays

Discover upcoming public holiday dates for South Korea and start planning to make the most of your time off.

2026 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Thu	New Year's Day
16 Feb to 18 Feb	Mon to Wed	Seollal
1 Mar	Sun	March 1st Movement Day
2 Mar	Mon	March 1st Movement Day Holiday
5 May	Tue	Children's Day
24 May	Sun	Buddha's Birthday
25 May	Mon	Buddha's Birthday Holiday
6 Jun	Sat	Memorial Day
17 Jul	Fri	Constitution Day
15 Aug	Sat	Liberation Day
17 Aug	Mon	Liberation Day Holiday
24 Sep to 26 Sep	Thu to Sat	Chuseok
3 Oct	Sat	National Foundation Day
5 Oct	Mon	National Foundation Day Holiday
9 Oct	Fri	Hangeul Day
25 Dec	Fri	Christmas Day
Visit law.go.kr for the original release.

2027 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Fri	New Year's Day
6 Feb	Sat	Seollal Holiday
7 Feb	Sun	Seollal
8 Feb to 9 Feb	Mon to Tue	Seollal Holiday
1 Mar	Mon	March 1st Movement Day
5 May	Wed	Children's Day
13 May	Thu	Buddha's Birthday
6 Jun	Sun	Memorial Day
7 Jun	Mon	Memorial Day Holiday
17 Jul	Sat	Constitution Day
15 Aug	Sun	Liberation Day
16 Aug	Mon	Liberation Day Holiday
14 Sep to 16 Sep	Tue to Thu	Chuseok
3 Oct	Sun	National Foundation Day
4 Oct	Mon	National Foundation Day Holiday
9 Oct	Sat	Hangeul Day
11 Oct	Mon	Hangeul Day Holiday
25 Dec	Sat	Christmas Day
27 Dec	Mon	Christmas Holiday
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2027 are released.

2028 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Sat	New Year's Day
26 Jan to 27 Jan	Wed to Thu	Seollal
1 Mar	Wed	March 1st Movement Day
5 May	Fri	Children's Day
5 May	Fri	Buddha's Birthday
6 Jun	Tue	Memorial Day
17 Jul	Mon	Constitution Day
15 Aug	Tue	Liberation Day
2 Oct to 4 Oct	Mon to Wed	Chuseok
3 Oct	Tue	National Foundation Day
9 Oct	Mon	Hangeul Day
25 Dec	Mon	Christmas Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2028 are released.

South Koreans are entitled to 16 holidays per year.  This makes South Korea one of the countries with the top holiday entitlements, behind India and Colombia.

Public holidays in South Korea are governed by the following regulations:

– Labor Standards Act
– Act on Establishment of Labor Day,
– Regulation on Closure Days for Public Offices (Government Decree)

Prior to 2013, national holidays that fell on a Saturday or Sunday were not substituted on the following work day. However, the Regulation on Closure Days for Public Offices was introduced to substitute a number of overlapping holidays. Specifically, they are:

– Lunar New Year’s Day (if the holiday overlaps with Sunday or other public holidays)
– Korean Thanksgiving Day (if the holiday overlaps with Sunday or other public holidays)
– Children’s Day (if the holiday overlaps with Saturday, Sunday or other public holidays)

Labor Day or Workers’ Day (1 May) is not an official public holiday in South Korea. However, according to the Labor Day Act, employers can stipulate that 1 May be made an official holiday within the company’s rules of employment. For instance, banking institutions and most commercial business are closed that day.