Korea Public Holidays 2026: What Actually Closes
Korea public holidays 2026 are the red days on the official government calendar — and they are not the same as “everything in the country is closed.” Administrative offices follow the Regulation on Public Holidays for Government Offices. Many private workplaces with five or more employees treat those same days as paid holidays under the Labor Standards Act. Banks, trains, convenience stores, and clinics each run their own notices.
This page lists every named 2026 date we verified against Presidential Decree No. 36290, Ministry of Personnel Management (MPM) summaries, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) lunar dates, and Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) counsel. It also flags the two big 2026 restorations — Labor Day and Constitution Day — and the four substitute Mondays. It does not invent a Chuseok substitute on 28 September.
If you need to skip weekends and these red days when you invoice, ship, or book a visa appointment, use the business-days tool linked below after you read which closures are statute-backed.
Count Korean business days between two dates →Korea public holidays 2026 = 관공서 red days under PD 36290, plus Art.3 substitutes. Government offices are off. Workplaces with five or more employees generally get those days as paid holidays. Do not treat every red day as a nationwide bank or subway shutdown without checking that operator’s own notice.
1. 📅 Full 2026 public holiday calendar
Sundays are always government-office holidays under Article 2(1) of the Regulation, so ordinary Sundays are not listed as separate rows. Named holidays that fall on Sunday appear because they trigger substitute Mondays. Lunar dates for Seollal, Buddha’s Birthday, and Chuseok follow KASI’s 2026 almanac release (30 June 2025). Weekdays were checked against the civil calendar.
1-1. 📋 Every named date for Korea public holidays 2026
Read the “Substitute?” column carefully. A “Yes” means Article 3 creates an extra weekday off. “No” means the statute does not grant a weekend make-up for that named day — even when secondary blogs invent one.
| Date (2026) | Weekday | English | Korean | Basis | Substitute? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Thursday | New Year’s Day | 1월 1일 / 신정 | Art.2(3) | No (신정 not in Art.3 weekend triggers) |
| Feb 16 | Monday | Seollal holiday (eve) | 설날 전날 | Art.2(4); lunar KASI | — |
| Feb 17 | Tuesday | Seollal | 설날 | Art.2(4); lunar 1/1 = 2026-02-17 | — |
| Feb 18 | Wednesday | Seollal holiday (day after) | 설날 다음날 | Art.2(4) | — |
| Mar 1 | Sunday | Independence Movement Day | 삼일절 | 국경일 Art.2(2) | Overlaps Sunday |
| Mar 2 | Monday | Substitute for Mar 1 | 삼일절 대체공휴일 | Art.3①1 | Yes |
| May 1 | Friday | Labor Day | 노동절 | Art.2(6) (new 2026; PD 36290) | Not needed (weekday) |
| May 5 | Tuesday | Children’s Day | 어린이날 | Art.2(7) | — |
| May 24 | Sunday | Buddha’s Birthday | 부처님오신날 | Art.2(5); lunar 4/8 = 2026-05-24 | Overlaps Sunday |
| May 25 | Monday | Substitute for May 24 | 부처님오신날 대체공휴일 | Art.3①1 | Yes |
| Jun 3 | Wednesday | Local election day (9th nationwide) | 임기만료 선거일 | Art.2(10의2) + Public Official Election Act Art.34 | — |
| Jun 6 | Saturday | Memorial Day | 현충일 | Art.2(8) | No (현충일 not in Art.3 numbered triggers) |
| Jul 17 | Friday | Constitution Day | 제헌절 | 국경일 Art.2(2) (restored; wording eff. 2026-05-11) | Not needed |
| Aug 15 | Saturday | Liberation Day | 광복절 | 국경일 Art.2(2) | Overlaps Saturday |
| Aug 17 | Monday | Substitute for Aug 15 | 광복절 대체공휴일 | Art.3①1 (Aug 16 = Sunday → Mon) | Yes |
| Sep 24 | Thursday | Chuseok holiday (eve) | 추석 전날 | Art.2(9); Chuseok = 2026-09-25 | — |
| Sep 25 | Friday | Chuseok | 추석 | Art.2(9) | — |
| Sep 26 | Saturday | Chuseok holiday (day after) | 추석 다음날 | Art.2(9) | No substitute — Art.3①2 triggers only on Sunday overlap |
| Oct 3 | Saturday | National Foundation Day | 개천절 | 국경일 Art.2(2) | Overlaps Saturday |
| Oct 5 | Monday | Substitute for Oct 3 | 개천절 대체공휴일 | Art.3①1 (Oct 4 = Sunday → Mon) | Yes |
| Oct 9 | Friday | Hangeul Day | 한글날 | 국경일 Art.2(2) | — |
| Dec 25 | Friday | Christmas Day | 기독탄신일 | Art.2(10) | — |
Confirmed 2026 substitutes: 2 March, 25 May, 17 August, and 5 October. There is no statutory Chuseok make-up on 28 September. KASI’s long-weekend note for autumn covers 24–27 September only; Korea Customs Service’s English 2026 table likewise lists Chuseok as 24–26 September with no 28 September row.
1-2. 🗓️ How to read this table on a trip or payroll sheet
Treat each row as a government-office holiday first. Then ask whether your counterparty is a civil office, a five-or-more employee workplace under Labor Standards Act Article 55(2), or a private retailer with its own hours. The same red square on a wall calendar can mean “immigration closed,” “my employer pays today as a holiday,” or “the café next door is still brewing.” Mixing those three meanings is the most common planning error for visitors and remote contractors.
Temporary holidays designated later under Article 2(11) are not invented here. If the Cabinet adds one mid-year, MPM and major news desks will publish it; update your calendar then. Older KASI “70 / 118 days off” headline totals from the June 2025 almanac predate Labor Day and Constitution Day restorations — do not quote those raw numbers as final 2026 totals.
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Search results for Korea public holidays 2026 often flatten every sector into one “closed” label. Statute does not. Below is only what grade-1 sources support as of 3 September 2026 (KST).
2-1. ✅ Confirmed: government offices and many 5+ workplaces
Administrative agencies (관공서) treat Regulation holidays as non-working days. That is the original purpose of the Regulation, and MPM’s public-holiday system page restates the Article 2 and Article 3 categories, including Labor Day, Constitution Day, and election day.
Private workplaces that normally employ five or more people: Labor Standards Act Article 55(2) and Enforcement Decree Article 30(2) treat Regulation Article 2 days (except the Sunday-as-weekly-holiday row) and Article 3 substitute days as paid holidays. That track has applied to 5–29 employee sites since 1 January 2022 (larger sites phased earlier). MOEL internet counsel also treats election days the same way for covered employers.
Civil servants’ Saturdays are a separate duty rule under the State Public Officials Service Regulations — Saturday is generally off, but that is not identical to calling Saturday a “공휴일.” It explains Korea’s five-day week practice without expanding the red-day list.
2-2. ⚠️ Do not invent bank, transit, or retail shutdowns
This draft does not claim that every bank branch, subway line, bus route, KTX timetable, convenience store, restaurant, hospital outpatient desk, or courier pickup window closes on every red day. Financial Services Commission notices historically talk about most financial firms being expected not to open under each firm’s duty rules — that is not the same as a single Banking Act holiday code we opened for every 2026 date. Transit operators publish their own holiday timetables. Private retail and medical hours are operating decisions.
Memorial Day on Saturday, 6 June 2026, is a government-office holiday and a paid holiday for covered 5+ workplaces. It does not automatically mean “the whole city shuts.” Plan ceremonies and family visits around that nuance, and check the specific counter you need.
“All banks and trains always close on every Korea public holidays 2026 red day” is not a sentence this page will print. Use the calendar for offices and covered payroll days; open the bank, rail, or store notice for everything else.
A desk calendar with purple stickers on red days is useful for HR and embassy queues. It is not a substitute for the subway operator’s PDF when you need the last train home after a late flight.
3. 🔁 Substitute holiday rules for 2026
Article 3 of the Regulation (as amended 30 April 2026) is the rulebook for 대체공휴일. MPM’s summary matches the statute: Seollal and Chuseok clusters get Sunday / other-holiday make-ups; national days, Buddha’s Birthday, Labor Day, Children’s Day, and Christmas get Saturday-or-Sunday / other-holiday make-ups.
3-1. 📜 When Article 3 creates an extra weekday
Applies to Article 2(2) through Article 2(10) holidays when:
- National days, Buddha’s Birthday, Labor Day, Children’s Day, Christmas overlap Saturday or Sunday → next first non-holiday (비공휴일).
- Seollal or Chuseok multi-day clusters overlap Sunday only (a Saturday overlap alone does not create a substitute).
- Eligible holidays overlap another Article 2(2)–(10) holiday on a weekday → next first non-holiday.
- If substitutes collide, push further; if a designated substitute would fall on Saturday, push to the next non-holiday (Art.3②③).
Explicitly outside weekend-substitute scope: New Year’s Day (1 January) and Memorial Day (6 June). Election days (Art.2(10의2)) and temporary holidays (Art.2(11)) sit outside Article 3’s “items 2 through 10” substitute set.
3-2. ❌ Why there is no Chuseok Monday in 2026
Chuseok eve, day, and day-after fall on Thursday–Saturday (24–26 September). The Saturday overlap does not trigger Article 3①2. Secondary calculators that print Monday 28 September as a “Chuseok substitute” conflict with the statute and with KASI’s listed long weekend. Korea Customs’ English holiday table also stops at 26 September for Chuseok. When you see 28 September marketed as a red day, treat it as an error unless a later Cabinet temporary holiday appears under Article 2(11) — which has not been designated in the sources opened for this page.
By contrast, Liberation Day on Saturday 15 August pushes the first non-holiday to Monday 17 August because Sunday 16 August is already a weekly holiday. National Foundation Day on Saturday 3 October likewise yields Monday 5 October. Those four Mondays — 2 March, 25 May, 17 August, 5 October — are the complete 2026 substitute set under the rules above.
4. 📅 What is new: Labor Day and Constitution Day
Two Acts in early 2026 restored or elevated days that older English calendars often missed. Presidential Decree No. 36290 (promulgated 30 April 2026) is the Regulation text that travelers and payroll tools should sync to.
4-1. 🛠️ Labor Day (1 May) as a 관공서 holiday
Act No. 21543 (promulgated 9 April 2026, effect 1 May 2026) designates Labor Day (노동절) as a public holiday. PD 36290 adds it as Regulation Article 2(6) with main effect from 1 May 2026 and expands Article 3 substitutes to cover it. In 2026, 1 May is Friday, so no substitute is needed.
Keep the dual track visible: Labor Day is also backed by the separate Labor Day Act (renamed from Workers’ Day) as a Labor Standards Act paid holiday for covered workers, including a historical under-five track under that special Act. From 1 May 2026 it is additionally a government-office holiday, so public-sector coverage and the five-or-more Article 55(2) track both apply. Do not collapse those statutes into one sentence without labeling.
4-2. 📜 Constitution Day (17 July) restored
Act No. 21338 (promulgated 10 February 2026, effect 11 May 2026) opened the path to restore Constitution Day (제헌절) as a public holiday. MPM’s 3 February 2026 press note announced the re-designation; PD 36290 restores it through national-day wording effective 11 May 2026. In 2026, 17 July is Friday — a clean weekday off for offices and covered workplaces.
English tables that still omit Labor Day or Constitution Day are out of date relative to PD 36290. Korea Customs’ English “National Holidays in 2026” page does list both dates and the four substitutes; it is a useful cross-check even though it omits Memorial Day and sometimes prints only the Monday without the weekend named holiday.
5. 📌 Long weekends and business-day planning
Once you know which days are statute holidays, the next question is practical: how many weekdays remain between two contract dates, and which clusters feel like a real break?
5-1. 📊 Clusters that matter for travel and HR
Seollal is a midweek block: Monday 16 through Wednesday 18 February. Independence Movement Day Sunday plus Monday 2 March creates a short early-spring break. Late May stacks Children’s Day (Tuesday 5 May) with Buddha’s Birthday Sunday and Monday 25 May — useful if you already hold leave nearby, but not one continuous week. Liberation Day’s Saturday–Monday package and National Foundation Day’s Saturday–Monday package bookend autumn with Hangeul Day on Friday 9 October. Chuseok is Thursday–Saturday with Sunday 27 September as a normal weekly holiday — a long weekend without a statutory Monday.
Election day on Wednesday 3 June is a government-office holiday and a paid holiday for covered employers. Build it into payroll calendars the same way you build other Regulation days — and when you schedule calls across borders on that Wednesday, use the KST / no-DST explainer so nobody “springs forward” into the wrong hour. Under-five workplaces on ordinary 관공서 holidays still sit outside the Labor Standards Act Article 55(2) track; Labor Day’s special-Act path is the separate exception noted above.
5-2. 🧮 Count business days instead of guessing
Hand-counting around Seollal, Chuseok, and the four substitute Mondays is where invoices slip. Enter a start date and an end date in the Korea business-days calculator, skip weekends and the verified red days, and you get a weekday count you can put in a statement of work. That is more reliable than copying a blog that invented 28 September. If a Seollal or Chuseok row is labeled only in lunar months, convert it first with the lunar–solar calendar converter before you mark payroll.
Count Korean business days between two dates →If you are also scheduling calls across borders, remember Korea’s clock does not jump for daylight saving — see our English note on the Korea time zone (KST, UTC+9). Age talk on forms is a different trap; legal age rules are covered in why Korean age is not a flat +2.
6. ❓ FAQ
Korea public holidays 2026 follow PD 36290. Offices close on the listed days. Covered 5+ workplaces generally get paid holidays. Four substitutes exist; Chuseok has none. Banks and transit need their own notices — this page does not invent them.
6-1. ❓ How many Korea public holidays 2026 dates are listed here?
The table lists every named 2026 Regulation holiday we verified, including multi-day Seollal and Chuseok rows, the four substitute Mondays, Labor Day, Constitution Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, and the 3 June local election day. Ordinary Sundays are always government-office holidays but are not duplicated as separate named rows.
6-2. ❓ Is Monday 28 September a Chuseok substitute?
No under Article 3①2. Seollal and Chuseok clusters create a substitute when they overlap Sunday, not when they merely touch Saturday. In 2026 the Chuseok cluster is 24–26 September; secondary tools that add 28 September conflict with the statute, KASI’s long-weekend note, and Korea Customs’ English table.
6-3. ❓ Do all banks and subways close on Korea public holidays 2026?
This page does not assert a universal bank or transit shutdown for every red day. Government offices follow the Regulation. Covered workplaces follow Labor Standards Act rules. Bank branches and public transit publish operator-specific notices — check those sources before you travel or withdraw cash.
6-4. ❓ Which substitute Mondays fall in 2026?
2 March (for 1 March), 25 May (for Buddha’s Birthday), 17 August (for Liberation Day), and 5 October (for National Foundation Day). New Year’s Day and Memorial Day do not receive weekend substitutes under Article 3.
6-5. ❓ Are Labor Day and Constitution Day really public holidays again?
Yes for 2026 under Acts 21543 and 21338 and Presidential Decree No. 36290. Labor Day is Friday 1 May; Constitution Day is Friday 17 July. Both appear on MPM’s holiday-system page and on Korea Customs’ English 2026 list.
6-6. ❓ Does election day count as a paid holiday for private staff?
For workplaces covered by Labor Standards Act Article 55(2), MOEL counsel treats election days designated as government-office holidays as paid holidays the same way as other Regulation days. Confirm headcount and any workplace agreement with HR; under-five sites sit outside that Article 55(2) track for ordinary 관공서 holidays.
Korea public holidays 2026 are the Regulation dates under PD 36290, including Labor Day, Constitution Day, the 3 June election, and four substitute Mondays. Government offices close. Covered five-or-more workplaces generally receive paid holidays. There is no Chuseok substitute on 28 September. Do not invent nationwide bank or transit closures from this calendar alone — open operator notices for those sectors.
This is a general explainer from the sources below, checked 3 September 2026 (KST). It is not legal advice. Confirm temporary holidays, workplace agreements, and sector notices before you redesign a nationwide schedule.
Sources opened for this draft:
- Regulation on Public Holidays for Government Offices (law.go.kr)
- MPM — public holiday system (Art.2 / Art.3 summary)
- Lawmaking portal — PD 36290 detail (Acts 21338 / 21543 cited)
- MPM press — Constitution Day re-designation (3 Feb 2026)
- KASI — 2026 lunar calendar / almanac note (30 Jun 2025)
- MOEL fast counsel — election day as paid 관공서 holiday (5+)
- Korea Customs Service EN — National Holidays in 2026 (secondary cross-check)
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