Why You Should Take May 4 Off: 2026 Korea Holiday Guide
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
South Korea’s 2026 holiday calendar offers several long and strategic breaks. The longest is Lunar New Year (Seollal) from Feb 14–18, requiring no annual leave. Chuseok in autumn is a 4-day break (Sep 24–27) with no substitute holiday. Many three-day weekends appear through the year (e.g., Independence Movement Day, Buddha’s Birthday, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, Hangeul Day, Christmas), easing short trips without using leave. Key opportunity: take annual leave on Monday, May 4 to connect Workers’ Day (May 1, Friday) and Children’s Day (May 5, Tuesday) for a five-day golden holiday from May 1–5. There’s also a bonus substitute holiday after Buddha’s Birthday (May 24 is Sunday, so May 25 is a substitute). June has a one-day nationwide holiday for local elections (Wednesday, June 3). Other notable points: Aug 17 becomes a substitute holiday for Liberation Day; Oct 5 is a substitute for National Foundation Day; Dec 25 (Christmas) falls on Friday for a three-day break. The government is moving to make May 1 an official public holiday renamed “Labor Day” (노동절), which would formalize the May long weekend for all workers. Proposals to restore Constitution Day (Jul 17) as a holiday could further change the calendar. Travel experts recommend booking Seollal for long trips and using the May/June/Aug/Oct windows for short getaways by strategically using one or two annual leave days.
