Next Year, 3 Fewer Public Holidays... 113 Days Off with 5-Day Workweek

On the 8th, one day before the 572nd Hangeul Day, a children's choir is performing the three cheers in front of the King Sejong statue at Gwanghwamun Square, Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the celebration ceremony is held. This celebration ceremony is the first outdoor event in 12 years since Hangeul Day was elevated to a national holiday in 2006. (Unrelated to the article) / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Next year, the number of public holidays will be 64 days, which is 3 days fewer than this year's 67 days. Companies implementing a five-day workweek will have 115 days off this year, but next year they will have 113 days off, 2 days less. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced this through the "2021 Calendar Guidelines," which serve as the basis for making the calendar of Korea in 2021 (Dangi 4354).

The Calendar Guidelines are materials that serve as the basis for calendar production every year. The government sets and announces dates and solar terms according to astronomical calendars, as well as public holidays based on related laws.

Public holidays marked in red on next year’s calendar include 52 Sundays plus 15 days such as national holidays and Lunar New Year, totaling 67 days. Among these, Memorial Day (6.6), Liberation Day (8.15), and National Foundation Day (10.3) fall on Sundays. Therefore, the total number of public holidays is counted as 64 days.

For institutions implementing a five-day workweek, the total number of holidays is 116 days, which includes 64 public holidays plus 52 Saturdays. However, excluding 3 days that overlap with Saturdays (the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday on 2.13), Hangeul Day (10.9), and Christmas Day (12.25), the total number of holidays narrows down to 113 days.

The major traditional holidays are Lunar New Year (Lunar January 1) on February 12 (Friday), Jeongwol Daeboreum (Lunar January 15) on February 26 (Friday), Dano (Lunar May 5) on June 14 (Monday), Chilseok (Lunar July 7) on August 14 (Saturday), and Chuseok (Lunar August 15) on September 21 (Tuesday). Additionally, Hansik is on April 5 (Monday), Chobok on July 11 (Sunday), Jungbok on July 21 (Wednesday), and Malbok on August 10 (Tuesday).

Next year’s solar calendar has a total of 365 days. This year has 366 days due to a leap month.

For more detailed information about next year’s Calendar Guidelines, please refer to the official gazette and the websites of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute’s Astronomy and Space Knowledge Information portal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.