Seollal

Seollal Holiday 2 in South Korea is Lunar New Year’s Day on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 and the central date of the three-day public holiday. Seollal follows the Korean lunisolar calendar and has long combined renewal, family hierarchy, food and remembrance. Its practices changed through dynastic, colonial, post-liberation and urban-industrial periods; present-day observance should therefore be described as diverse Korean family custom rather than as an unchanged ancient ceremony.

Where practised, charye honours ancestors with a carefully arranged food table, and younger relatives perform sebae, a deep formal bow, to elders who offer blessings and sometimes money. Tteokguk, soup with sliced rice cakes, symbolises entering the new year. Families also play yutnori or other games. Many people observe selectively, reflecting religious belief, family preference, smaller households and debate about the labour traditionally assigned to women.

The government-office regulations protect the day before, the lunar New Year day and the following day. In 2026 all three fall on weekdays, so no statutory substitute is generated. Government offices and most banks close. Under Labour Standards Act Article 55, workplaces ordinarily employing five or more workers must provide government-office public holidays and substitute holidays as paid holidays; smaller workplaces are not automatically covered by that provision. Essential services and businesses using holiday rosters may operate under separate lawful arrangements.