Will next year have one extra holiday? National Assembly set to finalize Constitution Day decision.
Published: 01 Dec. 2025, 11:56
Updated: 01 Dec. 2025, 19:16
![Visitors to the Shinsegae Department Store in Haeundae, Busan look at the ″Denny Taegeukgi″ (1891), initially owned by Owen N. Denny, an American who served as a diplomatic adviser to King Gojong from 1886 to 1890, donated by Denny's descendants to Korea, on display on Constitution Day, July 17. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/01/fa9e14f4-dfc2-4381-8292-c717cb19cb40.jpg)
Visitors to the Shinsegae Department Store in Haeundae, Busan look at the ″Denny Taegeukgi″ (1891), initially owned by Owen N. Denny, an American who served as a diplomatic adviser to King Gojong from 1886 to 1890, donated by Denny's descendants to Korea, on display on Constitution Day, July 17. [YONHAP]
Public anticipation is growing over next year’s summer holiday schedule as the National Assembly is set to wrap up deliberations on a bill to reinstate Constitution Day on July 17 as a public holiday. The move would revive the day off after an 18-year hiatus, creating a three-day weekend from Friday to Sunday in mid-July.
Constitution Day was established to commemorate the promulgation of the Korean Constitution in 1948 and was long treated as a public holiday. However, it was excluded from the list of official public holidays starting in 2008, after revisions to related regulations in 2005.
It has remained the only one of Korea’s five major national days that is not designed as a public holiday. The other four major national days include March 1 Independence Movement Day, which falls on a Sunday next year; Liberation Day, falling on a Saturday next year on Aug. 15; National Foundation Day, falling also on a Saturday on Oct. 3; and Hangul Day, which is a Friday next year on Oct. 9.
Calls to bring back Constitution Day as a day off have continued over the years, gaining traction after President Lee Jae Myung addressed the need to reinstate it at a senior presidential aides’ meeting on July 17 this year.
If the new designation is finalized, travel demand among families is expected to surge, coinciding with the start of summer vacation. It could also help disperse the peak demand for travel, typically concentrated during the height of summer.
![President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior presidential aides’ meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul on Nov. 27. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/01/00aae127-c438-4758-aaae-4d245ee378f1.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior presidential aides’ meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul on Nov. 27. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The total number of legally designated days off in 2026 — which include the 20 public holidays and 52 Sundays — will be 70, according to government data, as two of the public holidays, the March 1 Independence Movement Day and Buddha’s Birthday, fall on Sundays. Based on a five-day workweek, the addition of 52 Saturdays would add up to 122 days off. However, after subtracting the public holidays that overlap with Saturdays, the final number of standard nonworking days is 118.
This is one day fewer than in 2025, but the continuation of the substitute holiday system means the change will likely be barely noticeable for most.
Next year’s key dates include a temporary holiday as well. The local election day on Wednesday, June 3, will be a statutory public holiday, likely altering the flow of early summer breaks.
![A Google caldendar image shows the month of July in 2026 with Constitution Day on July 17 extending into a long weekend [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/01/2081467f-963e-494f-9001-b9967a644418.jpg)
A Google caldendar image shows the month of July in 2026 with Constitution Day on July 17 extending into a long weekend [SCREEN CAPTURE]
In 2026, there will be eight extended breaks lasting three days or more.
The Lunar New Year holidays in the second week of February will connect to the weekend, allowing for five days off. Another three-day weekend will occur in early March due to a substitute holiday. Similar short breaks are expected in May, August and October. The Chuseok holidays in 2026 will run from Sept. 24 to 26, with Sunday added for a four-day break. Christmas at the end of the year will also be part of a three-day weekend.
Traditional holidays and seasonal observances have also been confirmed. Seollal, the Lunar New Year, falls on Feb. 17, and Jeongwol Daeboreum, or the first full moon of the year, is on March 3. Dano will fall on June 19 and Chilseok on Aug. 19. The three warmest days of the year — Chobok, Jungbok and Malbok — are forecast for July 15, July 25 and Aug. 14, respectively.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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