A Guide to Korean Traditional Holidays
Their Origins, Foods, Customs, and Meaning in Modern Korea
Korea has a rich calendar of traditional holidays shaped by agriculture, family relationships, ancestor remembrance, seasonal change, and the lunar calendar.
For international visitors, Korean holidays can initially seem confusing because some are observed according to the modern Gregorian calendar, while many traditional celebrations follow the lunar calendar. This means that their dates change each year on Western calendars.
The Korean word most often used for a major traditional holiday is:
명절 — Myeongjeol
A myeongjeol is more than simply a day off from work. It is a culturally important occasion when families gather, prepare special foods, honor ancestors, play traditional games, and celebrate the changing seasons.
Korea’s best-known traditional holidays include:
Seollal, the Lunar New Year
Jeongwol Daeboreum, the First Full Moon Festival
Hansik, Cold Food Day
Dano, the Early Summer Festival
Chuseok, the Korean Harvest Festival
Dongji, the Winter Solstice
In 2023, Korea officially designated these major seasonal holiday traditions as National Intangible Cultural Heritage, recognizing their importance to family life, regional communities, food, rituals, games, and cultural identity.
1. Seollal — Korean Lunar New Year
Korean name: 설날
Romanization: Seollal
Date: The first day of the first month of the lunar calendar
Usual season: January or February
Seollal is one of the two most important traditional holidays in Korea, along with Chuseok.
It marks the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. The holiday represents renewal, family unity, respect for elders, remembrance of ancestors, and hopes for good fortune.
Seollal traditions developed over many centuries. Korea’s broader holiday culture began taking shape during ancient periods and became more formally established during the Goryeo and Joseon eras.
How Koreans Celebrate Seollal
Most people spend Seollal with their families. Because many Koreans live far from their hometowns, millions travel across the country during the holiday period.
Families may clean their homes, prepare food, visit parents and grandparents, and wear hanbok, Korea’s traditional clothing.
Seollal and the days immediately before and after it form a major national holiday period. Many offices, schools, banks, and smaller businesses close, while highways, airports, bus terminals, and train stations become extremely busy.
Sebae — The New Year’s Bow
One of the most important Seollal customs is:
세배 — Sebae
Younger family members perform a deep formal bow to parents, grandparents, and older relatives.
While bowing, they offer a New Year’s greeting:
새해 복 많이 받으세요.
Saehae bok mani badeuseyo.
It means:
“May you receive much good fortune in the New Year.”
The elders respond with blessings, encouragement, or advice.
Children often receive money called:
세뱃돈 — Sebaetdon
The money is traditionally given in an envelope after the child performs sebae. The custom symbolizes the older generation’s care and good wishes for the younger generation.
Charye — Honoring Ancestors
Some families perform an ancestral memorial ritual called:
차례 — Charye
Food is placed on a ceremonial table, and family members bow to honor deceased parents, grandparents, and earlier ancestors.
Not every Korean family performs charye. Some families follow religious traditions that do not include ancestral rites, while others have simplified or discontinued the practice.
Modern Korean families increasingly focus on the family meal and reunion rather than conducting a large formal ceremony.
Tteokguk — New Year’s Rice Cake Soup
The representative Seollal food is:
떡국 — Tteokguk
It is a soup made with thinly sliced white rice cakes, usually served in a beef, anchovy, or other savory broth.
The white rice cakes symbolize purity and a fresh beginning. Their round or oval shape is sometimes associated with old Korean coins and wishes for prosperity.
Traditionally, eating a bowl of tteokguk symbolized becoming one year older.
A common Korean question is:
“How many bowls of tteokguk have you eaten?”
It is a humorous way of asking someone’s age.
Other Seollal foods may include:
Mandu, Korean dumplings
Jeon, savory pancakes
Galbijjim, braised short ribs
Japchae, stir-fried glass noodles
Traditional sweets and fruit
Traditional Seollal Games
Families may play:
Yutnori — A traditional board game using four wooden sticks
Jegichagi — A game similar to kicking a shuttlecock
Neolttwigi — A traditional standing seesaw game
Yeonnalligi — Kite flying
Today, some families play traditional games, while others watch television, travel, visit cafés, or simply relax together.
2. Jeongwol Daeboreum — The First Full Moon Festival
Korean name: 정월대보름
Romanization: Jeongwol Daeboreum
Date: The fifteenth day of the first lunar month
Usual season: February or early March
Jeongwol Daeboreum celebrates the first full moon of the lunar year.
In traditional farming communities, the first full moon represented the official beginning of the agricultural season. People prayed for good weather, healthy crops, community safety, and personal good fortune.
Seollal and Daeboreum together traditionally marked the opening period of the lunar year—from New Year’s Day until the first full moon.
Cracking Nuts for Good Health
One well-known Daeboreum custom is:
부럼 깨기 — Bureom Kkaegi
People crack hard-shelled nuts with their teeth early in the morning.
Common nuts include:
Walnuts
Peanuts
Chestnuts
Gingko nuts
Traditionally, people believed that cracking nuts would help protect their teeth, prevent skin problems, and promote good health during the coming year.
Ogokbap — Five-Grain Rice
A representative Daeboreum food is:
오곡밥 — Ogokbap
The name means “five-grain rice.”
It may contain sticky rice, millet, sorghum, beans, and red beans. The ingredients vary by family and region.
People traditionally shared ogokbap with neighbors, reflecting the agricultural community’s dependence on cooperation.
It is commonly eaten with seasoned dried vegetables called:
묵은 나물 — Mugeun Namul
These preserved vegetables were prepared during the previous year and provided important nutrition during winter.
Drinking “Ear-Quickening Wine”
Another old custom is:
귀밝이술 — Gwibalgisul
Adults drink a small amount of rice wine in the morning.
The name literally suggests “wine that brightens the ears.” People believed it would help them hear good news throughout the year.
This is a symbolic custom, and it is not practiced by every family today.
Full-Moon Festivals and Fire Ceremonies
In some communities, people build and burn a large structure called:
달집 — Daljip
The burning ceremony is known as:
달집태우기 — Daljip Taeugi
People watch the fire, make wishes, and pray for good fortune.
Traditional Daeboreum celebrations may also include:
Tug-of-war
Farmers’ music
Torchlight processions
Moon viewing
Village prayers
Folk performances
Public folk villages and cultural centers sometimes recreate these traditions for visitors.
3. Hansik — Cold Food Day
Korean name: 한식
Romanization: Hansik
Date: Approximately 105 days after the winter solstice
Usual date: Around April 5
The word Hansik literally means:
“Cold food”
The holiday belongs to an old East Asian seasonal tradition in which people avoided lighting fires and ate previously prepared food.
In Korea, however, Hansik became especially connected with remembering ancestors and maintaining family graves.
Visiting Ancestral Graves
Families traditionally visited ancestral burial sites to:
Clean the area
Remove weeds
Repair damaged graves
Offer food
Perform memorial rites
Pay respect to ancestors
These customs are called:
성묘 — Seongmyo: Visiting an ancestral grave
벌초 — Beolcho: Cutting weeds and maintaining the grave area
Hansik is closely associated with spring because the soil becomes soft enough to repair burial sites and plant trees or grass.
Official descriptions of the holiday emphasize grave visits, site maintenance, and memorial services for ancestors.
Is Hansik Still Widely Celebrated?
Hansik is less visible in modern urban life than Seollal or Chuseok.
It is not usually celebrated through large family meals or gift exchanges. Some families continue to visit ancestral graves, while others perform similar grave-maintenance customs before Chuseok.
For most foreign visitors, Hansik is best understood as a quiet seasonal day of remembrance rather than a large public festival.
4. Dano — The Early Summer Festival
Korean name: 단오
Romanization: Dano
Date: The fifth day of the fifth lunar month
Usual season: May or June
Dano is an early summer festival originating in traditional agricultural communities.
People prayed for a successful growing season, protection from illness, community safety, and an abundant harvest. Because the fifth day of the fifth lunar month was considered a day of powerful seasonal energy, people observed various customs intended to strengthen the body and protect the home.
Washing Hair in Changpo Water
One of the most famous Dano traditions involved:
창포물 — Changpomul
Women washed their hair in water boiled with the leaves and roots of sweet flag, an aromatic wetland plant.
People believed that changpo water would make the hair shiny, prevent hair loss, and protect against misfortune.
Women sometimes wore decorative hairpins called:
창포잠 — Changpojam
These customs are now mainly demonstrated at folk festivals and cultural events.
Ssireum — Korean Wrestling
Men traditionally participated in:
씨름 — Ssireum
Ssireum is Korean traditional wrestling.
Two competitors hold fabric belts wrapped around each other’s waist and thigh. Each wrestler tries to bring the opponent to the ground using strength, balance, and technique.
The winner of a village competition might receive a bull, agricultural products, or recognition as the strongest man in the community.
Geunetagi — Traditional Swinging
Women often participated in:
그네뛰기 — Geunetagi
Competitors stood on large rope swings and attempted to swing as high as possible.
In earlier periods, when women’s movement outside the home could be socially restricted, Dano festivals offered a rare opportunity to gather outdoors, socialize, and participate in public entertainment.
Dano Foods
Representative foods include:
Surichwitteok — Rice cakes made with an aromatic plant called surichwi
Aengdu Hwachae — A traditional cherry fruit punch
Herbal and seasonal foods believed to support health during summer
Some Dano rice cakes were shaped like cartwheels, giving them a distinctive festival appearance.
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The largest and best-known Dano celebration is the:
Gangneung Danoje Festival
Held in Gangneung on Korea’s east coast, it combines Confucian, Buddhist, shamanistic, and folk traditions.
The festival includes:
Traditional rituals
Korean wrestling
Swinging competitions
Mask drama
Folk music
Markets
Handicrafts
Traditional food
Community performances
The Gangneung Danoje Festival was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, after originally being proclaimed in 2005.
Today, Dano is not a nationwide public holiday, but Gangneung Danoje remains one of Korea’s most important traditional cultural festivals.
5. Chuseok — The Korean Harvest Festival
Korean name: 추석
Romanization: Chuseok
Date: The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month
Usual season: September or October
Chuseok is one of Korea’s two largest traditional holidays.
It is often introduced to foreigners as Korean Thanksgiving, although it has its own history, foods, rituals, and cultural meaning.
Chuseok celebrates the autumn harvest, family unity, gratitude, and remembrance of ancestors.
Its roots are commonly connected with ancient harvest celebrations and a Silla-era tradition known as Gabae, although the exact historical origin developed through multiple seasonal customs over time.
Returning to the Family Hometown
During Chuseok, many Koreans return to their family hometowns.
This large movement of people is sometimes called:
민족 대이동 — Minjok Daeidong
It means “the great movement of the nation.”
Train tickets can sell out quickly, highways become congested, and airports and bus terminals become crowded.
Chuseok is normally observed as a three-day national holiday period, including the day before and the day after the main holiday.
Foreign visitors traveling during Chuseok should reserve transportation and accommodations well in advance.
Charye — The Chuseok Ancestral Rite
On the morning of Chuseok, some families perform charye.
The ceremonial table may include:
Newly harvested rice
Fruit
Meat
Fish
Vegetables
Soup
Rice cakes
Traditional alcohol
Family members bow and express gratitude to their ancestors for the harvest and the family’s well-being.
As with Seollal, customs vary. Some families conduct formal rituals, some hold simplified ceremonies, and others focus entirely on sharing a family meal.
Visiting and Maintaining Family Graves
After the memorial ceremony, families may visit ancestral graves.
They perform:
Seongmyo — Visiting and bowing at the grave
Beolcho — Removing weeds and cleaning the area
Some families complete beolcho before the holiday so that the burial site is prepared for the Chuseok visit.
Songpyeon — Half-Moon Rice Cakes
The representative Chuseok food is:
송편 — Songpyeon
These small rice cakes are shaped like half-moons and traditionally steamed over pine needles.
Common fillings include:
Sesame seeds and sugar
Red beans
Mung beans
Chestnuts
Soybeans
The pine needles give the rice cakes a fresh fragrance.
Families traditionally made songpyeon together, turning food preparation into a social activity.
An old saying claims that a person who makes beautiful songpyeon will have a beautiful spouse or child. Today, the saying is generally treated playfully.
Other Chuseok foods include:
Jeon
Japchae
Galbijjim
Namul
Fresh pears and apples
Newly harvested rice
Traditional drinks
Ganggangsullae — Full-Moon Circle Dance
One of the best-known Chuseok traditions is:
강강술래 — Ganggangsullae
Women join hands, form a circle, sing, and dance under the full moon.
The performance traditionally expressed hopes for abundance, safety, and community unity.
Ganggangsullae has also been recognized by UNESCO as an important element of intangible cultural heritage. Official Korean tourism guidance identifies it as a representative Chuseok full-moon ritual.
Making Wishes Under the Full Moon
Because Chuseok falls on the full moon, people traditionally looked at the moon and made wishes.
The large autumn moon represented abundance, completeness, and good fortune.
Today, festivals at palaces, folk villages, museums, and cultural centers may offer:
Hanbok experiences
Traditional games
Songpyeon making
Folk performances
Craft workshops
Moon-viewing events
6. Dongji — The Winter Solstice
Korean name: 동지
Romanization: Dongji
Date: The winter solstice
Usual date: Around December 21 or 22
Dongji marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.
In traditional thought, the winter solstice represented a turning point. After Dongji, daylight gradually becomes longer, symbolizing the return of positive energy.
For this reason, Dongji was sometimes called:
“The Little New Year”
It was considered a time of renewal before the arrival of the full New Year celebration.
Patjuk — Red Bean Porridge
The representative Dongji food is:
팥죽 — Patjuk
Patjuk is a warm porridge made from red beans.
Small rice-flour balls called:
새알심 — Saealsim
are often added to the porridge. Their name means “bird eggs” because of their small, round shape.
Traditionally, people believed the red color of the beans could drive away harmful spirits and bad luck.
Some families placed small amounts of patjuk near gates, walls, storage areas, or rooms as a symbolic form of protection.
Official descriptions of Dongji emphasize sharing red-bean porridge to prevent bad luck and strengthen harmony within the community.
Today, most people simply enjoy patjuk as a warm seasonal food.
The Two Most Important Holidays: Seollal and Chuseok
Although Korea has many traditional seasonal observances, Seollal and Chuseok remain the most widely celebrated.
Both holidays involve:
Family reunions
Long-distance travel
Respect for elders
Remembrance of ancestors
Special foods
Traditional games
Gift giving
Several days away from work and school
However, their meanings are different.
Seollal looks forward. It welcomes a new beginning and expresses hopes for the coming year.
Chuseok looks back with gratitude. It celebrates the harvest and honors the ancestors and family members who came before.
Modern Korean Holiday Culture
Korean holiday traditions are changing.
In the past, extended families were more likely to gather at the home of the eldest son, prepare large amounts of ceremonial food, and perform elaborate ancestral rites.
Today, many families simplify the customs.
Some modern families:
Order prepared holiday food
Eat at restaurants
Travel domestically or internationally
Hold a short memorial ceremony
Visit both the husband’s and wife’s families
Meet at a neutral location
Spend the holiday resting at home
Avoid formal ancestral rites altogether
These changes reflect smaller families, religious differences, urban lifestyles, demanding work schedules, and concerns about the unequal burden of holiday food preparation.
The form may be changing, but family connection remains the central meaning for many Koreans.
Holiday Gift-Giving Culture
Before Seollal and Chuseok, Korean stores display large holiday gift sets.
Popular gifts include:
Fruit
Korean beef
Fish
Cooking oil
Spam
Tuna
Coffee
Traditional sweets
Red ginseng
Skincare products
Department-store gift certificates
To foreign visitors, gift sets containing canned meat or cooking oil may appear unusual. In Korea, however, neatly packaged sets of practical household products are common and appreciated.
Companies may give gifts to employees or business partners, while adult children often bring gifts when visiting their parents.
Traveling in Korea During a Major Holiday
Traveling during Seollal or Chuseok can provide a special cultural experience, but visitors should prepare carefully.
Expect Heavy Transportation Demand
High-speed train and express-bus tickets may sell out. Highways can become severely congested as people travel to their hometowns.
Reserve transportation early.
Check Business Hours
Many family-operated restaurants, clinics, banks, and stores may close or reduce their hours.
Large shopping malls, tourist areas, convenience stores, and some restaurants usually remain open, but schedules vary.
Visit Cultural Attractions
Royal palaces, national museums, folk villages, and cultural centers often hold traditional programs during major holidays. Some palaces may offer free admission during Seollal and Chuseok holiday periods.
Enjoy a Quieter Seoul
Business districts can feel unusually quiet while many residents are away visiting their hometowns.
Popular palaces and traditional attractions, however, may still become crowded with families and tourists.
Korean Holidays Compared with Western Holidays
Seollal may be compared with New Year’s Day, but it places greater emphasis on family hierarchy, ancestral remembrance, formal bows, and traditional food.
Chuseok is sometimes compared with Thanksgiving because both celebrate harvest and family. However, Chuseok includes distinct traditions such as songpyeon, grave visits, ancestral rites, and full-moon customs.
Dongji resembles other winter-solstice celebrations around the world, but red-bean porridge and the symbolic use of the color red are particularly Korean expressions.
Understanding these differences helps visitors appreciate Korean holidays as living cultural traditions rather than Korean versions of Western celebrations.
Useful Korean Holiday Greetings
For Seollal
새해 복 많이 받으세요.
Saehae bok mani badeuseyo.
“May you receive much good fortune in the New Year.”
For Chuseok
즐거운 추석 보내세요.
Jeulgeoun Chuseok bonaeseyo.
“Have a happy Chuseok.”
풍성한 한가위 보내세요.
Pungseonghan Hangawi bonaeseyo.
“Have an abundant and joyful harvest festival.”
Hangawi is another traditional name for Chuseok.
General Holiday Greeting
즐거운 명절 보내세요.
Jeulgeoun myeongjeol bonaeseyo.
“Have a wonderful holiday.”
Final Thoughts
Korean traditional holidays reveal how closely Korean culture is connected to family, ancestors, food, agriculture, and the changing seasons.
Seollal welcomes a new beginning.
Jeongwol Daeboreum celebrates the year’s first full moon.
Hansik remembers ancestors and cares for family graves.
Dano asks for health and a successful growing season.
Chuseok gives thanks for the autumn harvest.
Dongji welcomes the gradual return of light after the longest night.
Not every Korean family follows every traditional custom today. Some conduct formal ceremonies, while others simply eat together, travel, or rest.
Yet the deepest meaning remains remarkably consistent: remembering where one comes from, sharing food with others, honoring family relationships, and welcoming the next season together.
For foreign visitors, experiencing a Korean holiday offers more than an opportunity to taste traditional food or watch a folk performance. It provides a window into the values that have shaped Korean life for generations.
Korean Traditional Holidays Explained: Seollal, Chuseok, Dano, Daeboreum, Hansik, and Dongji
Discover Korea’s major traditional holidays, including Seollal, Chuseok, Dano, Jeongwol Daeboreum, Hansik, and Dongji. Learn about their origins, foods, family customs, ancestral rituals, and modern celebrations.
Korean traditional holidays, Seollal traditions, Chuseok customs, Korean Lunar New Year, Korean harvest festival, Dano festival, Jeongwol Daeboreum, Korean holiday foods, Korean family culture, Korea travel guide
#KoreanCulture #KoreanHolidays #Seollal #Chuseok #Dano #JeongwolDaeboreum #VisitKorea #KoreaTravel #KoreanTraditions #DiscoverKorea
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