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Public holidays in North Korea

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This is a list of public holidays in North Korea, known as myŏngjŏl (Korean: 명절; Hanja: 名節). See also the Korean calendar for a list of traditional holidays. As of 2017, the North Korean calendar has 71 official public holidays, including Sundays.[1] In the past, North Koreans relied on rations provided by the state on public holidays for feasts. Recently, with marketization people are able to save up money and buy the goods they need.[2]

The Day of the Sun, the birthday of its founder and first leader Kim Il Sung, on 15 April is the most important holiday in the country.[3] The second most important is the Day of the Shining Star on 16 February, the birthday of Kim Jong Il.[4] As of 2019, Kim Jong Un's birthday is still not a public holiday.[5] Other holidays of great importance are the Party Foundation Day (10 October) and the Day of the Foundation of the Republic (9 September).[6] North Koreans often schedule their wedding days on important national holidays.[7]

North Korea regularly carries out missile and nuclear tests on such important anniversaries.[8]

List of annual holidays

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DateEnglish nameNotesRemarksLocal name
1 JanuaryNew Year's Day[9]Celebrates the opening of the Gregorian New Year.양력설
15 JanuaryChosongul DayThe day commemorates the invention (1443) and the proclamation (1446) of Chosongul, the native alphabet of the Korean language. King Sejong the Great, inventor of Chosongul, is one of the most honored rulers in Korean history.조선글날
8 FebruaryMilitary Foundation Day[10]The Korean People's Army was established on 8 February 1948, and that day was celebrated as Army Day until 1978, when it was moved to 25 April, the date of the formation of Kim Il Sung's guerilla. It was moved back to 8 February in 2015.[11][12]인민군 창건일
16 FebruaryDay of the Shining Star[9]Kim Jong Il's birthday.[13]2 days광명성절
14 MarchTree Planting DayPeople across the country plant trees.[14][15][16]식수절
8 MarchInternational Women's Day[17]Commemorates the history of women across the country.국제부녀절, 3.8절
last day of 12th lunar monthSeotdal GeumeumKorean New Year, based on the Korean calendar.설날
1st day of 1st lunar monthSeolmyeongjeolKorean New Year, based on the Korean calendar.설명절
15 AprilDay of the Sun[9]Birthday of Kim Il Sung.3 days태양절
21 AprilKang Pan Sok's birthdayCommemorates the birth of Kim Il Sung's mother.강반석녀사 탄생
15th day of 1st lunar monthDaeboreumBased on the Korean calendar.대보름
1st day of 2nd lunar monthMeoseumnal [ko]Based on the Korean calendar.머슴날
3rd day of 3rd lunar monthSamjinnalBased on the Korean calendar.삼짇날
105th day after Winter SolsticeHansikBased on the Korean calendar.한식
8th day of 4th lunar monthChopailBased on the Korean calendar.초파일
1 MayInternational Workers' Day (Labor Day)[18] Celebrates the economic and social achievements of workers.국제로동절, 메데, 5.1절
1 JuneInternational Children's Day[9]Global observance dedicated to advocating for peace, opposing aggression, and promoting the health and well-being of children.국제아동절, 6.1절
6 JuneKorean Children's Union Foundation Day[9]Public holiday marking the 1946 foundation of the Korean Children's Union.조선소년단창립절
19 JuneAnniversary of Kim Jong Il's commencement of work in the Workers' Party Central CommitteeOfficially a public holiday since 2015 but celebrated unofficially before, this holiday marks Kim Jong Il's 1964 graduation from Kim Il Sung University and start of work in the party organization.[18]
5th day of 5th lunar monthDanoBased on the Korean calendar.단오날
3 JulyDay of the Strategic Forces[1]A new holiday established on 24 June 2016 by Ordinance No. 1177 of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly which commemorates the foundation of the Korean People's Army Strategic Force on 3 July 1999.전략군절
27 JulyDay of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War[9]The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement조국해방전쟁승리의 날, 전승절
15 AugustLiberation Day[9]Established after the liberation of Korea in 1945.조국해방의 날
25 AugustDay of Songun[9]A new holiday established in 2013 commemorating Kim Jong Il's inspection visit to the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Armored Division of the Korean People's Army on August 25, 1960, which is always regarded as the "start of the Songun revolutionary leadership" by the North Korean government.선군절
28 AugustYouth DayCommemorates the founding of the Youth Communist League of Korea by Kim Il Sung in 1927청년절
9 SeptemberDay of the Foundation of the Republic[9]Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948.창건기념일, 9.9절
15th day of 6th lunar monthYudu [ko]Based on the Korean calendar.류두
7th day of 7th lunar monthChilseokBased on the Korean calendar.칠석
15th day of 7th lunar monthBaekjungBased on the Korean calendar.백중날
15th day of 8th lunar monthChuseokBased on the Korean calendar, North Korean Mid-Autumn Festival.추석, 한가위
10 OctoberParty Foundation Day[9]Founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in 1945.로동당 창건기념일
9th day of 9th lunar monthJungyangjeolBased on the Korean calendar.중양절
16 NovemberMother's Day[9][18]A new holiday from 2012 onward honoring all mothers.어머니날
18 NovemberMissile Industry Day[19]Dedicated to celebrate a Hwasong-17 ICBM launch that took place on 18 November 2022.[20]로케트공업절
20 DecemberDongjiWinter solstice, based on the Korean calendar.동지
24 DecemberKim Jong Suk's birthdayCommemorates the birth of Kim Jong Il's mother.김정숙동지 탄생
27 DecemberConstitution Day[9]Enactment of the Socialist Constitution of North Korea in 1972.사회주의헌법절,헌법절
31 DecemberNew Year's EveCelebrates the closing of the Gregorian Year.신년전야

Momentous changes in political holidays in North Korean calendars

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During some years, certain dates related with the Kim regime are additionally designated as public holidays for propaganda purposes.

In the 2014 version of the North Korean calendar, "Generalissimo Day" (대원수추대일) briefly became a holiday that honors when Kim Jong Il posthumously received the title "Generalissimo of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in 2012.[17]

In the 2015 calendar, a new public holiday was to be celebrated on June 19, marking the date in 1964 when Kim Jong Il graduated from Kim Il Sung University and began working as part of the Party’s organizational leadership. Various events related to the commemorative day take place every year on this date in North Korea, but this was the first time it has been recognized as a national holiday. [21]

In the 2017 calendar, July 3 became a public holiday called "Day of the Strategic Forces" (전략군절).[22]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Kang Mi Jin (13 January 2017). "Official 2017 Calendar Seen as out of Touch". Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "North Koreans make the most of Liberation Day". dailynk.com. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Calum MacLeod (26 April 2013). "Korean defectors recall 'Day of the Sun'". USA TODAY. Contributing: Jueyoung Song, Duck Hwa Hong. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Barbra Kim (21 February 2012). "What Really Glimmers Behind the 'Day of the Shining Star'". cogitASIA. CSIS Asia Program. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Kim Jong-un's birthday remains unmarked in 2019 calendars". The Korean Herald. Yonhap. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  6. ↑ Yonhap News Agency, Seoul (27 December 2002). North Korea Handbook. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 451–452. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.
  7. ↑ Toimela, Markku; Aalto, Kaj (2017). Salakahvilla Pohjois-Koreassa: Markku Toimelan jännittävä tie Pohjois-Korean luottomieheksi (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Docendo. p. 40. ISBN 978-952-291-369-2.
  8. ↑ Shinkman, Paul D. (4 October 2017). "CIA Official Predicts North Korean Provocation on Columbus Day". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Seol Song Ah (7 December 2015). "Kim Jong Un's birthday still not a holiday". Daily NK. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Gareth (20 February 2018). "What's the difference between North Korea's February 8th Army Day and April 25th Military Foundation Day?". Young Pioneer Tours. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Carlin, Robert (February 2018). "A Few Facts on North Korea's Army Day". 38 North. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  12. ↑ 북, 건군 75주년 열병식..'전술핵운영부대·ICBM 종대' 등 대거 공개. TongilNews (in Korean). 9 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Day of Shining Star to Be Marked in Norway". Korean Central News Agency. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tree-Planting Day in the DPR-Korea embodies Socialist and traditional Asian Cultural Values". Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Tree-planting Day Marked in DPRK". Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  16. ↑ North Korea Tree-planting Day on YouTube
  17. 1 2 Cho Jong Ik (25 December 2013). "2014 Calendar Reveals Few Surprises". DailyNK. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  18. 1 2 3 Lee Sang Yong (16 December 2014). "North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed". Daily NK. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  19. ↑ Anton Sokolin (6 November 2023). "North Korea debuts new holiday to mark launch of largest nuclear missile". NK News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  20. ↑ Thanh Vân (5 November 2023). "Triều Tiên lập ngày nghỉ lễ mới để đánh dấu vụ phóng thành công tên lửa ICBM Hwasong-17" [North Korea establishes a new public holiday to mark the successful launch of the Hwasong-17 ICBM]. Truyền hình Thanh Hóa (in Vietnamese). Thanh Hoa Radio and Television. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed". dailynk. 16 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Official 2017 calendar seen as out of touch". dailynk. 13 January 2017.
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