More days may be added if government designates substitute holidays
South Koreans will have a total of 118 days off, including weekends and holidays, in 2026, one day fewer than this year, the Korean Aerospace Administration’s calendar guideline showed Monday.
The longest holiday will be the five-day Lunar New Year set from Feb. 14 to 18.
Korea will see 52 Sundays and 20 additional public holidays, including substitute ones, amounting to 72 days off for employees on a standard five-day workweek. But the actual number of days off for holidays would be 70, with the March 1 Independence Movement Day and Buddha’s Birthday falling on Sundays. It remains unclear whether substitute holidays will be designated for either day.
Public holidays combined with weekends would result in 122 days off. However, with some holidays falling on Saturdays, the number effectively stands at 118.
There will be eight holidays that span three days or more. This includes the Lunar New Year and the Chuseok holiday from Sept. 24 to 27.
There will be five three-day weekends next year, including National Foundation Day and Christmas.
Details of the calendar guideline can be found on the KASA website (https://www.kasa.go.kr/eng/index.do).
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
